Jonathan Micah Rosser appeals his conviction for failing to comply with the requirements of the state sexual offender registry law. He also appeals his sentence, contending that he should have been sentenced to two years’ probation, not ten years. Because, as the state concedes, the record does not reflect that Rosser knowingly waived his right to a jury trial, we vacate the conviction and remand the case for further proceedings. We find no merit in Rosser’s challenge to his sentence because the sentence complies with the law in effect at the time of the commission of the offense. After conducting a bench trial, the trial court found Rosser guilty and announced that it would sentence him to two years on probation and ordered him to pay a $1,000 fine. When the court entered the judgment of conviction, however, it sentenced Rosser to ten years on probation.
1. The version of OCGA § 42-1-12 n 3 2007 in effect at the time of the commission of the offense, December 8, 2006, imposed a sentencing range of ten to 30 years. The statute was amended, effective May 20, 2010, to proscribe a sentencing range of one to 30 years. Ga. L. 2010, p. 168, § 11. Rosser argues that because his conviction and sentence were not final when the statute was amended, he should be given the benefit of the favorable change under the “pipeline rule.” Under that rule, “a new rule of criminal procedure . . . will be applied to all cases then on direct review or not yet final.” Taylor v. State , 262 Ga. 584, 586 3 422 SE2d 430 1992. But it has long been the law in this state that, in general, a crime is to be construed and punished according to the provisions of the law existing at the time of its commission. Making a lesser penalty applicable to offenses committed prior to the enactment of the legislation creating the lesser penalty is contrary to the judicial interpretation of the laws of this state under which the penalty for a criminal offense relates only to those offenses committed when and after such legislation becomes effective. Citations and punctuation omitted. Widner v. State , 280 Ga. 675, 677 2 631 SE2d 675 2006. Because at the time Rosser committed the offense the law proscribed a sentencing range of ten to 30 years, the trial court did not err in sentencing Rosser to ten years on probation.
