The Nebraska Court of Appeals says Jason Gibson's six month sentence was not enough punishment for Attempted First Degree Sexual Assault of a Child. On Tuesday the court ordered a new sentencing.
Gibson was sentenced by Sarpy County District Judge Stefanie Martinez a year ago to 180 days in jail and five years probation. The state appealed that sentence claiming the court abused its discretion in imposing an excessively lenient sentence.
The sentence has been vacated and the case has been sent back to Sarpy County District Court with “directions to impose a greater sentence.” In addition, the sentence is to be imposed by a different district judge.
Gibson was initially charged with First Degree Sexual Assault of a Child. A conviction would have carried a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.
Gibson reached an agreement with prosecutors to plead No Contest to the attempted assault charge. Prosecutors claimed that Gibson made contact with DeArch Stubblefield to set up a meeting with a 15-year-old girl.
The re-sentencing ruling stated that the court should have put more focus on what Gibson did rather than on Stubblefield's role in the crime.
When police contacted Gibson he admitted his acts but said he was unaware of how old the girl actually was and claimed she and Stubblefield misrepresented her age.