01/27/93 State Utah V. Roger Dale Strunk

Defendant Roger Dale Strunk pleaded guilty to first degree murder, a capital offense under Utah Code Ann. § 76-5-202(1)(d), child kidnapping, a first degree felony under section 76-5-301.1, and aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first degree felony under section 76-5-404.1. In exchange for his pleas, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for first degree murder instead of being tried for the capital offense. In addition, he was sentenced to mandatory minimum terms for the other two offenses: fifteen years to life for child kidnapping and nine years to life for aggravated sexual abuse of a child. All three sentences were ordered to run consecutively. § 76-3-401. Strunk appeals, contending that the sentences imposed for child kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault of a child are excessive due to (1) the trial court's incorrect analysis of the mitigating and aggravating factors, and (2) the running of the sentences consecutively instead of concurrently.