Resentencing is ahead in a Lyon County rape case dating back to 2021.
The Kansas Supreme Court issued its ruling in the case against Williams Nunez, who was convicted of rape in September 2022 after sex with a person too intoxicated to give consent and sentenced to almost 13 years in prison with lifetime postrelease supervision. Nunez appealed, saying his jury trial rights were violated because the jury didn’t determine his age. Prosecutors say Nunez listed his age on financial affidavits and did not object to a presentence investigation stating his age.
The Kansas Supreme Court says the issue, especially in light of Apprendi v New Jersey, which says facts increasing penalties for crimes above the listed legal maximums must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in court, isn’t with the prison term but with the postrelease supervision term and involves judicial fact-finding, or facts found by the judge and not the jury. Because Nunez’s age wasn’t verbally stated during his trial proceedings, the Supreme Court says it was an error for district court to rely on the Nunez admissions for the postrelease supervision term. The high court also says it is not convinced the error was harmless.
The case has been remanded to Lyon County District Court.
