The Kansas Court of Appeals on Friday affirmed a lower court’s sentencing for Robert Iacobellis, the former Manhattan diner owner convicted of child rape.
Judge Kendra Lewison in February 2023 sentenced Iacobellis, then 64, to nearly 25 years in prison for two counts of rape of a child, an off-grid crime, as part of a plea deal. He received 147 months, or more than 12 years, on each count, to be served consecutively.
Iacobellis’ attorneys argued that the court’s decision to impose consecutive sentences was “an abuse of discretion because it was unreasonable,” according to court documents. They said the court should have considered evidence of his “good character, his minimal criminal history, his age, his willingness to accept a plea, and his standing in the community” and made the sentences concurrent.
