A former Youngstown man who was 15 years old when he took part in the kidnapping, robbery, and rape of a YSU student at gunpoint has dropped his appeal now that he is eligible for parole.

Brandon Moore, who turned 35 last week, has twenty more years to serve of a sentence handed down in 2002 for a conviction on charges of rape, kidnapping, and robbery.

According to court documents, Moore and three others all took part in the August 21, 2001 robbery and rape of a senior YSU student as she was arriving for her night shift job at a group home for mentally handicapped women.

Moore was originally sentenced to 141 years in prison by Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge R. Scott Krichbaum. His sentence was later reduced under different guidelines.

On Thursday, at the request of prosecutors and defense attorneys, the Ohio Supreme Court dismissed Moore’s appeal of the case following enactment of a new Ohio law allowing parole opportunities to offenders convicted of crimes as juveniles.

Under Senate Bill 256 signed into law by Governor Mike DeWine on January 9, any prisoner serving a prison sentence for one or more offenses committed, other than homicide, when the person was under eighteen years of age is eligible for parole after serving eighteen years in prison.

As of this past October Moore has been imprisoned for 18 years.