Court denies appeal of Hamilton man’s sentence for child sex conviction

The 12th District Court of Appeals has upheld a Hamilton man’s life prison sentence for raping a child and filming that child in a sex act.

In January, Johnanthony Boyd was sentenced to life in prison with possibility of parole after 15 years after pleading guilty to pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor and rape. The victim was 11 years old at the time of the crimes.

Boyd, 21, of the 1200 block of Vine Street, was arrested by Hamilton detectives on May 24, 2019. He was indicted by a grand jury on 18 counts involving child pornography and the rape charge. In exchange for the plea, the remaining charges were dismissed.

Credit: Nick Graham / Journal-News.com

Credit: Nick Graham / Journal-News.com

Hamilton police and prosecutors said Boyd recorded a video of an 11-year-old child performing a sex act on him. All of the images were in Boyd’s possession on his phone, according to the arrest report. The crimes occurred in 2018.

Butler County Common Pleas Judge Charles Pater said he found both the act of rape and the filming of the act to “later watch, get his jollies or whatever,” as two separate crimes that deserved consecutive sentences. Pater sentenced Boyd to 10 years to life in prison for the rape and an additional five years for the pandering charge.

Boyd appealed his consecutive sentences, arguing he had a limited record, was a hard worker and volunteer and had accepted responsibility for his actions.

“Boyd also argues that it was improper for the trial court to run his sentences consecutively because the offense happened on the same day with the same victim ...,” Judge Stephen Powell wrote in the opinion.

The appeals court disagreed with Boyd’s arguments and upheld his sentence.

In the opinion, Powell wrote the court found considerable evidence to support the consecutive sentences, including Boyd’s filming and storage of the abuse on his phone, his lying to investigators when initially confronted with the allegations anda limited juvenile criminal record.

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