Oliver Benjamin Gerrish v. M. Eldon Barnes

In 1985, plaintiff Oliver Benjamin Gerrish was charged with three counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first degree felony carrying a minimum mandatory term of three, six, or nine years to life. Utah Code Ann. § 76-5-404.1. As part of a plea bargain, Gerrish pleaded guilty to one of the counts and the other charges were dismissed. He was sentenced to the middle term: six years to life.