The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals ordered a man's sex crime sentence be modified after finding that testimony allowed at trial detailing another victim's rape affected the man's sentence.

According to the modified sentence, filed Oct. 17 in Sequoyah County District Court in Sallisaw, the appeals court ordered the 20-year sentence for Charles Terrell of Gore be modified to 10 years.

Terrell, 48, was convicted last year by a Sequoyah County jury of molesting a girl who was 12 years old at the time of the molestation. The jury recommended that Terrell receive the maximum punishment of 20 years in prison and Associate District Judge A.J. Henshaw agreed with that recommendation, formally sentencing Terrell in March 2006.

According to court records, the 12-year-old victim in the case was at a relative's home when Terrell molested her in the middle of the night. Terrell told the girl that if she told anyone about the incident they wouldn't believe her because he had done it before, prosecutors said. The girl recoiled from Terrell and later told a parent about the incident.

A separate case against Terrell is currently pending. Terrell faces multiple sexual assault charges from 2001 in an alleged incident involving a woman who is now in her 20s, according to court records. The woman in that case testified at Terrell's trial last year and alleged that she was 11 years old when Terrell first sexually assaulted her.

That witness testimony seemed to be the key factor in the appeals court's decision to modify Terrell's sentence.

According to the appeal's court opinion, filed Oct. 12, the main elements of Terrell's appeal pertained to "whether the trial court erred in allowing evidence of other crimes;" "whether the probative value of a photograph of the victim was outweighed by its prejudicial effect;" and "whether his sentence is excessive."

While the appeals court found that there was no error affecting the judgment and affirmed Terrell's conviction, the appeals court decided that Terrell's sentence should be modified.

Terrell contended in his appeal that he was denied a fair trial with the admission of testimony from the other alleged victim.

While the appeals court disagreed with Terrell's contention, they wrote that the witness testimony detailing the separate alleged sexual assault was more prejudicial.

"The degree of detail provided to the jury about these rapes was more prejudicial than probative, and although we typically give the trial court deference regarding the admissibility of evidence, the trial court erred in allowing this testimony," according to the appeals court opinion written by Judge Arlene Johnson.

The appeals court noted that evidence of Terrell's guilt was strong, but they could not find that the testimony did not affect Terrell's sentence.

"The jury sentenced Terrell to the maximum of 20 years for briefly fondling the victim," Johnson wrote.

The decision to modify Terrell's sentence was not unanimous among the five judges. Presiding Judge Gary Lumpkin concurred in part and dissented in part.

Lumpkin concurred in the court's decision to affirm the conviction, but he dissented in the sentence modification.

"The court concludes the evidence of other crimes was properly admitted with proper limiting instructions to the jury," Lumpkin wrote. "It seems the only complaint is the detail of the acts committed. The facts are the facts and the sentence is supported by the facts in this case."

Kyle Waters, assistant district attorney, said Wednesday, "I feel like the jury handed down what was appropriate about what they saw and heard in the courtroom." Waters pointed out that the appellate court recommended a different punishment.