State v. Gaskill

Special conditions of probation must be reasonably related to the crime of conviction or the needs of the probationer for the protection of the public or reformation of the probationer, or both. Moreover, the conditions cannot be more restrictive than necessary to achieve the goals of probation.

Defendant appealed the special conditions of probation that the trial court imposed in its sentencing. Defendant was charged with, and plead guilty to, third-degree sexual abuse for unlawfully and knowingly subjecting a 38-year-old woman to sexual contact without her consent. The trial court sentenced him to 36 months of supervised probation and imposed the special conditions that Defendant was prohibited from having contact with minors or frequenting places where minors assemble, despite no facts being presented at trial that Defendant had ever committed an offense involving minors. Defendant argued that these conditions were not reasonably related to his current offense or past offenses, the protection of the public, or his reformation. The Court of Appeals agreed that there is no connection between Defendant's unlawful sexual conduct and his relationship to minors. Remanded for resentencing; otherwise affirmed.