State v. DeGarmo, 2019 Ohio 4050

Victim (J.M.C.S.) reported that when she was about six, Appellant Danny DeGarmo grabbed her in a garage, put her on his lap, moved her clothing aside, and rubbed his penis on the outside of her vagina. Appellant threatened to hurt her if she told anyone.
Appellant (Mary R.’s brother) was indicted on two counts of Gross Sexual Imposition (GSI) and one count of Kidnapping (later charged/pleaded as Abduction).
On August 3, 2018 DeGarmo pled guilty to two counts of GSI (R.C. §2907.05) and one count of Abduction (R.C. §2905.02).
Sentencing (Sept. 17, 2018): 60 months on each GSI count and 36 months on abduction, all to run consecutively (and consecutive to another unrelated sentence).
On appeal DeGarmo raised: (I) plea validity (later withdrawn), (II) merger of the two GSI counts, (III) merger of GSI with abduction, and (IV) ineffective assistance of counsel (including failure to move for merger and to seek waiver of costs).
Appellate disposition: the court merged the two GSI counts (vacating those sentences and remanding for resentencing on the surviving GSI count), rejected merger of GSI with abduction, and rejected the ineffective-assistance claim.

Issue	State's Argument	DeGarmo's Argument	Held
1. Plea voluntariness	Plea was valid and knowingly entered	Plea was not knowing, intelligent, voluntary	DeGarmo withdrew this assignment at oral argument; court did not address it (no relief)
2. Merge the two GSI counts (allied-offense claim)	Counts reflect different statutory means and can be punished separately	Both counts arose from a single instantaneous act and should merge	Court: GSI counts are allied — they should have merged; reversed those GSI sentences and remanded for resentencing on the surviving count
3. Merge GSI with Abduction	Abduction involved separate, identifiable harm (forcible restraint) distinct from the sexual contact	Restraint was incidental to the sexual contact and therefore not a separate animus — should merge	Court (majority): no merger—abduction and GSI are of dissimilar import (separate harm); merger claim fails (plain-error standard)
4. Ineffective assistance of counsel	N/A	Counsel failed to move for merger and failed to request waiver of court costs	Court: claim denied — merger issue moot after merger of GSI counts; failure-to-waive-costs claim rejected under controlling precedent; Strickland standard not satisfied

State v. Ruff, 34 N.E.3d 892 (Ohio 2015) (sets allied-offense analysis under R.C. 2941.25)
State v. Rogers, 38 N.E.3d 860 (Ohio 2015) (forfeiture/plain-error rule for allied-offense claims not raised at trial)
State v. Quarterman, 19 N.E.3d 900 (Ohio 2014) (forfeiture of allied-offense challenge when not raised below)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (two-prong ineffective-assistance standard)
State v. Logan, 397 N.E.2d 1345 (Ohio 1979) (when restraint is incidental to sexual offense, kidnapping/abduction may not be a separate offense)
State v. Barnes, 759 N.E.2d 1240 (Ohio 2001) (plain-error review requires showing reasonable probability of different result)