Appeals Court denies child rapist’s motion

The state Court of Appeals won’t be second-guessing its decision regarding a South Whidbey child rapist’s conviction.

Last week the court released an order denying Jonathan Sage’s motion for reconsideration of an opinion filed in December. The court denied Sage’s appeal in the opinion.

Two years ago, a jury convicted Sage, 35, of four counts of child rape in the second degree with aggravating factors. The judge sentenced him to 35 years in prison.

Two brothers testified at trial that Sage befriended them and their mother, then raped them at various places on South Whidbey when they were as young as 12 years old. The abuse went on for years.

One of the victims testified that Sage had video of the sexual abuse on his laptop computer. A detective spent months trying to gain access to the computer but was unsuccessful.

In his appeal, Sage’s attorneys argued that the multiple charges amounted to double jeopardy and that the trial court erred by allowing evidence of other “bad acts” as evidence and by imposing an exceptional sentence.

The appeals court disagreed with the arguments and affirmed the conviction.

Sage owned a company on South Whidbey called Northwest Public Relations, which created promotional videos for businesses and nonprofit organizations. He has maintained his innocence.

File photo                                Jonathan Sage was sentenced to 35 years in prison for child rape.

File photo Jonathan Sage was sentenced to 35 years in prison for child rape.