California man convicted in 1999 rape of Logansport woman appeals sentence

WARSAW, Ind. (WNDU) - A California man convicted for the 1999 rape and kidnapping of a Logansport woman is now appealing his sentence with the Indiana Court of Appeals.

Todd Rodriguez, 53, was sentenced to 80 years in prison in October 2022 after he kidnapped a woman at knifepoint while she stopped her car to check her transmission fluid on Nov. 23, 1999.

According to our reporting partners at the Times Union, the appeal asks the appellate court to reverse the Kosciusko Superior Court I’s decision of consecutive sentences or excise its authority to reduce Todd’s sentences.

Read the full press release on the arrest of Rodriguez Todd from the Kosciusko County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office here.

The appeal said the court erred when it sentenced Todd to 40 years for rape and 40 years for kidnapping, with the two sentences to be served consecutively. It said Todd’s character as an offender also didn’t justify the elevated sentence, as 20 years had passed since the kidnapping and rape occurred.

The appeal said the state provided no evidence of any other allegations of rape or kidnapping against Todd.

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