Ohio Supreme Court denies review of Darke County case on sex offender registration

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COLUMBUS — The Ohio Supreme Court announced Wednesday it would not accept for review the appeal of a Darke County case brought by an Ironton man seeking to discontinue his Tier II sexual offender classification.

Zachary D. Moore, now of Ironton, entered pleas of no contest in the 2013 Darke County Common Pleas Court case to two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. He was convicted of having sexual contact on two occasions in October 2010 with a girl who was 15 years old at that time.

Moore’s attorney filed objections to the sex offender classification twice before he was sentenced and appealed to the Second District Court of Appeals after sentencing.

Under Ohio law, the sexual offender classification is a mandatory part of sentencing for a conviction for unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.

In February, the Second District Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court sentence imposing the classification, stating that it “violates neither Due Process nor Equal Protection.”

The opinion of the appeals court noted that the classification’s reporting, registration and notification requirements were part of the penalty imposed for the crime of which he was convicted after he entered a plea of no contest.

Supreme Court Justice Paul E. Pfeifer dissented in the high court’s rejection of the case review.

By Rachel Lloyd

[email protected]

Reach the writer at 937-569-4354 or on Twitter @RachelLloydGDA.

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