1,000-plus year sex assault sentence overturned

By Assocated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- The state Supreme Court on Monday threw out a prison sentence of at least 1,140 years for a man convicted of sexually assaulting a 7-year-old girl.

The justices ordered the man resentenced on 152 counts, saying the prison terms piled on consecutively are "so offensive that they shock the conscience of this court."

The man, identified by the court only as "David D.W.," was convicted in 2000 of multiple counts of sexual assault and sexual abuse. Circuit Judge Charles McCarty set most of the prison terms to run consecutively, resulting in a sentence of 1,140 to 2,660 years.

The state Supreme Court affirmed the convictions, but ordered the resentencing. "Although the offenses committed by the appellant are heinous and repulsive, the trial court's sentencing order cannot be upheld," it said.