State of West Virginia v. Jeremy M., 16-0247

Petitioner Jeremy M. pled guilty to one count of sexual abuse by a parent/guardian/person in a position of trust (WV Code § 61-8D-5(a)) relating to sexual conduct with a minor; other charged counts were dismissed under a plea agreement.
Allegations involved sexual contact with a 13-year-old babysitter (S.M.) and an attempted contact with petitioner’s 10-year-old child (M.M.); petitioner fled to Colorado and was later extradited.
At plea hearing petitioner admitted the charged conduct and did not challenge voluntariness of the plea.
At sentencing the circuit court considered petitioner’s criminal history and high recidivism risk, denied probation and a request for a determinate sentence, and imposed 10–20 years imprisonment plus 40 years supervised release, consecutive to an unrelated sentence.
Petitioner appealed, arguing (1) the statute does not permit indeterminate sentences (seeking determinate sentence), (2) the second count of the indictment was facially deficient, and (3) alternatively that § 61-8D-5(a) is overbroad as applied.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether circuit court erred by imposing an indeterminate sentence under WV Code § 61-8D-5(a)	Jeremy M.: indeterminate sentencing produces absurd results (good-time, parole interaction) and statute should yield a determinate sentence	State: sentence was within statutory 10–20 year range and properly left to court’s discretion	Court: No error; sentence within statutory limits and not subject to appellate relief absent impermissible factors
Whether the second count of the indictment was facially deficient	Jeremy M.: indictment defective (specifics not argued below)	State: defendant waived challenge by pleading guilty and not reserving appeal	Court: Waived—defendant did not preserve the claim or enter conditional plea reserving appeal
Whether § 61-8D-5(a) is overbroad as applied	Jeremy M.: statute overly broad as applied to him	State: statutory sentencing range clear; claim not preserved	Court: Waived; plea forfeited antecedent non-jurisdictional challenges
Whether guilty plea voluntariness or sentence legality was challenged	Jeremy M.: did not contest voluntariness or legality below	State: plea was voluntary; issues waived	Court: No challenge to voluntariness or legality; only preserved issues addressed; affirmed

State v. Head, 198 W.Va. 298, 480 S.E.2d 507 (1996) (three‑pronged standard of review)
State v. Goodnight, 169 W.Va. 366, 287 S.E.2d 504 (1982) (sentences within statutory limits not subject to appellate review absent impermissible factors)
State v. Booth, 224 W.Va. 307, 685 S.E.2d 701 (2009) (reinforcing limits on appellate review of sentences)
State v. Sims, 162 W.Va. 212, 248 S.E.2d 834 (1978) (guilty plea ordinarily waives antecedent non‑jurisdictional claims)
State ex rel. Forbes v. Kaufman, 185 W.Va. 72, 404 S.E.2d 763 (1991) (plea waives significant constitutional rights)
Tollett v. Henderson, 411 U.S. 258 (1973) (a defendant who pleads guilty may not later raise independent claims relating to pre‑plea constitutional deprivations)