Youngstown man charged with sex crimes loses double-jeopardy appeal

Daniel Fleischer WEB

An Ohio judge recently rejected a double-jeopardy appeal by a Youngstown man already serving a 37-year federal prison sentence for sex crimes.

The decision was made Sept. 29 against Daniel Fleischer, 42, who is serving out a sentence at the Petersburg Federal Correctional Institution in Virginia after pleading guilty in 2019 to receiving pictures of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct and sexual exploitation of children.

Federal investigators say Fleischer photographed himself sexually assaulting two young girls.

In 2021, he was brought to Mahoning County to stand trial for rape and gross sexual imposition.

During a time period spanning from 2010 through 2014, Fleischer engaged in sexual contact with a minor that started when the child was nine years old, according to a 2021 indictment.

Fleischer argued that alleged that the Mahoning County prosecution violated his constitutional right against double jeopardy, because  he had been prosecuted in federal court for the same conduct alleged in the Mahoning County indictment, according to court documents.

The judge denied the appeal on the basis that the the dual sovereignty doctrine, most commonly referred to as double jeopardy, allows for separate prosecution of crimes in federal and state court based on the same set of underlying facts, according to court documents.

Fleischer is expected to released from federal custody in 2050.