State v. Worley

• Decision Date: 23 February 2023
• Docket Number: 111648
• Citation: 2023 Ohio 530
• Parties: STATE OF OHIO, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. GREGORY WORLEY, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: Ohio Court of Appeals

2023-Ohio-530

STATE OF OHIO, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. GREGORY WORLEY, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 111648

Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth District, Cuyahoga

February 23, 2023

Criminal Appeal from the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Case Nos. CR-18-635170-A, CR-21-661841-A CR-21-665432-A, and CR-21-665627-A

JUDGMENT: AFFIRMED

Michael C. O'Malley, Cuyahoga County Prosecuting Attorney, and Mary C. Weston, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for appellee.

Flowers & Grube, Louis E. Grube and Melissa A. Ghrist, for appellant.

JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION

EILEEN A. GALLAGHER, JUDGE

{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant Gregory Worley appeals the consecutive sentences the trial court imposed on him in two criminal cases, resulting in an aggregate 11.5-year prison sentence. Worley contends that the sentences were disproportionate to the danger he poses to the public. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

I. Factual Background and Procedural History

{¶ 2} Prior to the four cases at issue in this appeal, Worley was convicted in 2008 of committing sexual battery against a 70-year-old woman in 2004 and raping a 40-year-old woman in 2005. Both victims were strangers to Worley. He served an aggregate sentence of 13 years in prison on those convictions.^[1]

{¶ 3} While serving that sentence, Worley participated in sexual-offender treatment and substance-abuse treatment. He worked and took college courses. He completed programs that taught money management and anger management; he took job-training classes in areas such as administrative office technology, masonry and graphic design.

{¶ 4} On August 6, 2020, a Cuyahoga County Grand Jury indicted Worley for, among other things, rape in violation of R.C. 2907.02(A)(2) with a sexually violent predator specification pursuant to R.C. 2941.148(A). Worley ultimately pleaded guilty to rape, a first-degree felony, and the state dismissed the specification and the remaining counts in the indictment.^[2] This conviction stems from the 2006 assault of a 54-year-old woman while she was walking in public. The state related that the victim was "walking from her home to the closest gas station to get cigarettes for her husband" when she was attacked. The state described the assault as follows:

She was approached by a stranger who was riding his bike and he asked her a question that seemed to be innocuous kind of, like, what time is it or something like this. She thought nothing of it. He got off the bike. He dragged her between two homes. * * * She told police and hospital personnel that the stranger punched her in the jaw and raped her anally.

{¶ 5} At sentencing, the victim stated that Worley "almost broke my arm and he punched me in the jaw real hard." She said that "he grabbed me and pulled my hair, too."

{¶ 6} The state explained that evidence samples collected from the victim in 2006 did not reveal the presence of semen and the samples were not forwarded for DNA testing at that time. The state retested the evidence in 2018 - this time for DNA - and found male DNA on the victim's underwear that matched Worley's DNA. The upshot of this timing is that Worley was released from his 13-year prison sentence for the 2004-2005 assaults in 2020 and went directly back into custody for the 2006 assault.

{¶ 7} Worley was released on bond for the 2006 rape case in October 2020. While on bond, Worley committed a felony and two misdemeanor offenses.

{¶ 8} On December 28, 2021, a Cuyahoga County Grand Jury indicted Worley for, among other things, a felonious assault that occurred on or about May 20, 2021. Worley pleaded guilty to attempted felonious assault, a third-degree felony.^[3] At the sentencing hearing, the trial court summarized the offense as follows, in relevant part, after reading the presentence-investigation report:

The victim [Worley's romantic partner] stated that she and Mr. Worley were arguing and Mr. Worley started punching her in the face and aggressively pulling her hair.

{¶ 9} On August 5, 2021, a Cuyahoga County Grand Jury indicted Worley for various drug offenses and endangering children, acts that occurred on or about July 13, 2021. Worley pleaded guilty to endangering children and attempted drug possession, both first-degree misdemeanors, with forfeiture and juvenile specifications, carrying a maximum jail term of 180 days each.^[4] The state dismissed the remaining counts in the indictment.

{¶ 10} In August 2021, Worley failed to appear in court for his trial in the rape case and a capias was issued for his arrest. After failing to appear, Worley committed another felony.

{¶ 11} On December 15, 2021, a Cuyahoga County Grand Jury indicted Worley for failure to verify his address on or about September 24, 2021, as required after his 2008 rape conviction. Worley pleaded guilty to attempted failure to verify his address, a felony of the fourth degree under R.C. 2923.02 and 2950.06.^[5]

{¶ 12} Worley was taken into custody again around November 29, 2021.

{¶ 13} As of spring 2022, Worley had four pending criminal cases: (1) the 2006 rape case, (2) the failure-to-verify-address case, (3) the felonious assault case and (4) the drug possession and child endangering case. The trial court accepted Worley's guilty pleas in each of these four cases, as identified in the paragraphs above, on April 13, 2022. The court ordered a presentence-investigation report and a mitigation-of-penalty report.

{¶ 14} On May 17, 2022, the trial court held a hearing in which it sentenced Worley in each of these four cases. The state, defense counsel, the victim of the 2006 rape offense and Worley each addressed the trial court.

{¶ 15} Worley apologized to the rape victim "and her family and anybody I have negatively affected in these series of events." He also apologized to his own family, to "those closest to me" and to the trial court. He described the efforts he made in prison to rehabilitate himself, which are summarized above at paragraph 3. He admitted to having poor mental health and expressed a desire to continue with therapy.

{¶ 16} As to why he did not appear for trial, Worley explained that he "was overwhelmed, anxious, bewildered, confused, discouraged[;] [s]imply put, I was scared." Worley stated that while serving his 13-year prison sentence, he experienced traumas including seeing an inmate commit suicide, seeing an inmate beaten to death, being attacked himself and being threatened with "shanks." He said that these events created a "mental barrier" that prevented him from turning himself in.

{¶ 17}Worley also described his disappointment at the timing of the criminal investigation leading to the 2006 rape case:

Imagine how I felt two days - no - 48 hours from being released on a 13-year-long prison stay. I was picked up by the sheriff and returned to county jail. 13 years of hope and waiting for my freedom ended just like that. Emotionally I was dead on the inside and many days I found myself wishing the same fate for my life. * * * Which to make it worse, the detectives knew through my DNA in 2018, two prior years to me being released. * * * What a cruel thing to do to a person. First rehabilitate me, give me an out date, and with 48 hours to go, they snatch it all away. Thank God my sister was blessed in bonding me out. I came home and put my rehabilitation to use.

In 2020, I was welcomed home with an indictment for 2006. Now I'm more confused than ever. * * * I tell myself there is no justice. The detective deliberately waited two days before my release. They wanted to break me. There's no point in freedom. There's no point in life. There's no point in my existence. It must all be an illusion. * * * [H]ere I am 15 years later dealing with a case from 2006. I'm sure if it was heard two years before my release things might have been different.

{¶ 18} The trial court then pronounced its sentences. The court addressed Worley as follows:

Mr. Worley's past is significant. It is clear that he is a serial rapist. He has two other victims that he has a combined sentence of 13 years on. One victim was 70 at the time and the other was 40. He did 13 years on those cases, got out, and was indicted for this rape case. We're here to sentence him on the rape case and in three other cases that arose since his release from the institution. * * *

It's clear that despite Mr. Worley's words, he has not been rehabilitated and that, frankly, given his violent history, he should forfeit his right to walk free amongst other law-abiding people. Mr. Worley, I listened to your words of self pity and I find them to be hollow.

{¶ 19} The court sentenced Worley to ten years in prison on the rape conviction. The court sentenced Worley to 18 months in prison for attempted failure to report to be served consecutively to the sentence on the rape conviction. Regarding these consecutive sentences, the court made the following findings at the hearing:

I find that the crimes were committed while you were under postrelease control for your prior rape case and I also find that your criminal history shows consecutive terms are needed to protect the public.

I find that consecutive time is necessary to protect the public from a serial rapist and a 11-and-a-half-years total sentence is not disproportionate to the amount of harm in this failure to verify.

Just so we're clear on the findings for consecutive sentences, the attempted verification of current residence address case was committed while he was on post-release control.

{¶ 20} The trial court sentenced Worley to 180 days in county jail on the two misdemeanor convictions and 36 months in prison for the attempted felonious assault conviction. These sentences were run concurrently to each other and to the sentences imposed on the rape and...