NICHOLAS WILLIAMS V. COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
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NICHOLAS WILLIAMS
V.
DAT[E klb-10&A G"'')t .e .
APPELLANT
ON APPEAL FROM ROCKCASTLE CIRCUIT COURT
HONORABLE JEFFREY THOMAS BURDETTE, JUDGE
NO. 07-CR-00043-001
COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
APPELLEE
MEMORANDUM OPINION OF THE COURT
VACATING AND REMANDING
These are matter of right appeals from a judgment in which Appellant
was convicted of incest and first-degree sodomy and an order denying
Appellant's CR 60 .02(b) motion for a new trial based on newly discovered
evidence. Because of the admission of improper and highly prejudicial KRE
404(b) evidence of vaginal and anal injuries to the victim, we vacate the
convictions and remand for a new trial or further proceedings consistent with
this opinion. Appellant's CR 60.02 motion and appeal therefrom is thus
rendered moot.
Appellant, Nicholas Williams, was indicted on one count of incest and
one count of first-degree sodomy based on allegations that he had sexual
contact with his then 21-month old daughter K.W. while in bed with his wife,
Virginia Williams. Upon investigation of the incident by police, Williams stated
to police that the child was in bed with him and his wife when his wife was
giving him oral sex. At some point, he heard his wife laughing. Williams stated
that he then looked up and saw his penis in his child's hand, but he did not
know if the child ever put her mouth on his penis. Williams told police that he
could not tell the difference between his wife and his child because his wife was
not very good at performing oral sex.
A neighbor of the Williamses, Tommy Smith, who was friends with
Virginia Williams, testified that Virginia told him that she let K.W. suck
Williams' penis and he "got harder and hornier" than he had ever been in his
life. According to Smith's testimony, Virginia also told him she allowed K.W. to
suck on her nipples because the child had witnessed Williams doing it and
wanted to do it too. Smith understood that the child was encouraged to do this
for sexual pleasure. Smith also testified that once, when K.W. was at his
apartment with Virginia, the child pulled at his shorts while saying "suck,
suck." In seeing this, Virginia told Smith that sometimes when K.W. would be
in bed while she and Williams were having sex, K.W. would grab Williams'
penis and bite it. Finally, Smith testified he observed a dildo on the Williamses'
bedroom floor.
Holly Kirby, who was K.W.'s foster mother for about four months after
K.W. was removed from the Williamses' home, testified that when she changed
K.W.'s diaper, K.W. "spread herself apart," cussed, and "asked me to `suck it."'
Kirby also testified that during this period, when K.W. would see males, she
would grab her crotch and say "suck it." Kirby described one incident in which
K.W. went up to a man in Walmart and said "suck" to him. Kirby stated that
these behaviors became less frequent after three months .
The social worker on the case, Joyce Cummings, testified that when she
went to the Williamses' house to investigate the matter and told Appellant
about the allegations of sexual abuse, Appellant acted nonchalant and offered
her a Mountain Dew. In the course of testifying about Williams' computer use,
Cummings testified that Williams maintained a Myspace .com account, and his
user name was "Demon M
and his password was 666.69.
Appellant's mother, Carolyn Bray, who sometimes watched K.W., testified
that she became concerned about K.W. when she observed redness and injury
to her vaginal area on April 11, 2007. Bray testified that Appellant and K.W.
were at her house on that day, and she changed K.W.'s diaper . At that time,
K.W.'s vaginal area did not appear red or swollen. Later on that same day, she
took Virginia and K.W. (without Appellant) to visit Virginia's family. When they
got home two hours later, K.W. was saying "hurt," and when Bray checked her
diaper, her vaginal area was again red and swollen. When Bray told Virginia
what she observed, Virginia told her that K.W. had straddled a toy without her
diaper on, and the toy had hurt her . Bray testified she later learned that
Tommy Smith had been with Virginia and K.W. that day.
K.W.'s paternal great-grandfather, Benny Miller, who had custody of the
child at the time of trial, testified for the defense. He testified that the child
acted afraid to visit Virginia's family and said to him when he was taking her to
visit Virginia's family, "Napa hurt me real bad." He stated the child also told
him that a man at Nana's house "took off my clothes and made me naked."
Sheena Ballard, a friend of Tommy Smith, testified that once when she
was at Smith's apartment and Virginia and K.W. were there, she observed K. W.
suck on a protuburance on a computer tower cd holder and say "suck ."
Ballard testified that she thought this was unusual for a child this age.
Dr. Jacky Crawford, a physician employed by the Child Advocacy Center,
performed an examination of K.W. on April 26, 2007, about a week after the
child was removed from the Williamses' home. Dr. Crawford found bruising
around K.W.'s rectum and abrasions on her labia major, and abrasions and
small tears inside the vagina all the way back through the inner lips . Dr.
Crawford testified that there had been trauma to the vagina, and something
had been pushed against the rectum to cause swelling.
Dr. Crawford opined
that K.W. had been sexually assaulted fairly recently, within a couple of days to
a week. Dr. Crawford's report was admitted into evidence .
Williams was indicted on June 8, 2007. In the same indictment, Virginia
Williams was indicted on one count of complicity to incest and one count of
complicity to first-degree sodomy . On July 13, 2007, the Commonwealth
moved for a speedy trial pursuant to KRS 421 .510, which provides for a speedy
trial where the victim is less than sixteen (16) years of age. The motion was
granted and, over defense objection, trial was set for October 23, 2007 . Eight
days before trial, the defense filed a motion in limine pointing out that the
Commonwealth had not given notice of any "other crimes" evidence and moving
to exclude: 1) statements by Virginia Williams ; 2) statements by K.W. weeks
after the alleged crime ; 3) a social workers' report, including hearsay
statements by Virginia; and 4) any and all other KRE 404(b) evidence of "other
bad acts" including vaginal and/or anal injuries, including the testimony and
report of Dr. Jacky Crawford .
In response, the Commonwealth filed its first notice of potential KRE
404(b) evidence seven days before trial . The notice stated that the
Commonwealth intended to introduce evidence of vaginal injuries to K.W.
suffered while in the custody of Williams and evidence that Carolyn Bray had
inquired about injuries to the child's genitals just prior to the investigation.
This notice stated that it took the position that these items were direct evidence
of guilt and not KRE 404(b) evidence. That same day, the Commonwealth filed
a second notice of potential KRE 404(b) evidence stating its intent to call
Tommy Smith to testify about what Virginia had told him, and Holly Kirby to
testify about K.W.'s behaviors and her saying "suck" and "fuck." The day
before trial, the court issued its order on the motion in limine permitting the
testimony of Tommy Smith, Dr. Jacky Crawford, Carolyn Bray, and Holly Kirby
to be admitted, as well as evidence that K.W. watched her dad suck on
Virginia's nipples and, as a result, also sucked on Virginia's nipples .
At the jury trial in which the charges against Virginia were severed, the
jury was instructed on incest, first-degree sodomy, and first-degree sexual
abuse. The jury found Williams guilty of incest and first-degree sodomy, and
recommended that he be sentenced to ten (10) years on the incest charge and
twenty (20) years on the sodomy charge, to be served concurrently. The trial
court the accepted jury's recommendation of the ten-year and twenty-year
sentence, but ordered that they be served consecutively, for a total of thirty (30)
years . From this final judgment, Williams now appeals to this Court as a
matter of right .
Ninety days after the final judgment was entered, Williams filed a CR
60 .02 motion for a new trial alleging newly discovered evidence that witness
Tommy Smith had recently been charged with sexually abusing a child other
than K.W. The motion claimed that had Williams known of this charge against
Smith, he could have attempted to show that Smith (who also had access to
K.W.) was the one who had molested K.W. or, at the very least, impeached
Smith with this information. From the order denying the CR 60.02 motion,
Williams appealed to the Court of Appeals. Williams' motion to transfer the
appeal to this Court was granted and the appeal was consolidated with the
appeal from the final judgment.
TESTIMONY OF DR. JACKY CRAWFORD
In reviewing the record, it appears to this Court that, up until the
Commonwealth's response to the motion in limine, Williams was on notice that
he was charged with acts only relating to the one incident in bed with his wife
and child when K.W. allegedly put Williams' penis in her mouth . The basis of
both the incest charge and the first-degree sodomy charge in the indictment
was that Williams "on or about January 2007 through April 19, 2007"
committed the offenses by "engaging in deviate sexual intercourse with K.W. [,]"
who was his daughter and under twelve years of age at the time of the offenses.
The uniform citation dated April 19, 2007 charges first-degree sodomy and
incest and describes only the incident in bed with Virginia and K.W. where
K.W. allegedly had Williams' penis in her mouth. The second citation, dated
June 13, 2007, which was executed pursuant to service of the indictment,
stated no additional facts or allegations. No bill of particulars or motion
therefore was filed in the record.
On October 16, 2007, one week before trial, the Commonwealth
responded to Williams' motion in limine as follows with regard to its position
that the evidence of Dr. Crawford's findings should be admitted:
Defendant is charged with Sodomy and Incest. Dr.
Crawford has found injuries to the vaginal area of the
young child and determined that there is sexual
abuse. This evidence is relevant in terms of the
abusive nature of the environment KBW was in while
placed in the parents' home .
In light of all the other evidence, this evidence tends to
show ongoing abuse of the child, beyond what the
Commonwealth
has
charged .
While
the
Commonwealth takes the position that this evidence is
direct evidence, to the extent that it might be
considered "other act evidence" the Commonwealth
gives notice of its intent to introduce such to prove
common scheme or pattern of conduct with regard to
this victim during this same time frame.
(emphasis added) .
The only allegation made by the Commonwealth against Williams in its
opening statement was relative to the incident in bed when K.W. had Williams'
penis in her mouth. Although the Commonwealth made reference to Dr.
Crawford's testimony and report in its opening statement, the prosecutor did
not claim that Williams had caused these injuries or that they would show that
Williams committed these acts . The opening statement of the defense
addressed only the allegation regarding the incident in bed when the child had
Williams' penis in her mouth.
The jury instructions for incest, sodomy and sexual abuse were worded
generally and contained no language indicating allegations of multiple,
separate acts. Further, the time period for commission of the offenses in all
three instructions was the same: "On or about January 2007 through April 19,
2007 . . ."
Prior to the filing of this response wherein the Commonwealth claims
that the evidence of vaginal or anal injury to K.W. was direct evidence of the
crimes charged, there was no indication that Williams was being charged with
an act related to contact with K.W.'s anal or vaginal area. There was no
allegation or evidence that the incident in bed with K.W. and Virginia involved
any contact by Williams with K.W.'s vagina or rectum.
Thereafter on October 19, 2007, Williams filed a reply to the
Commonwealth's response, maintaining that any evidence of vaginal or anal
injury to K.W. would have to be KRE 404(b) evidence and could not be direct
evidence because Williams was never charged with an act relating to contact
with K.W.'s vagina or rectum. Williams argued that said evidence was not
admissible under KRE 404(b) because there was no evidence that Williams
committed any prior act relating to contact with K.W.'s vagina or rectum, as
required by Bell u. Commonwealth, 875 S.W.2d 882, 890 (Ky. 1994), and the
evidence of vaginal or anal injury to K.W. was not sufficiently similar to the
offense charged (K.W. having Williams' penis in her mouth) .
The Commonwealth filed a second response to the motion in limine on
October 19, 2007, in which it conceded that Williams was only being charged
with an act involving oral sex:
With regard to the perianal-anal area, this is most
certainly related to sodomy. While the charged act
involves oral sex, the fact there is evidence of anal
bruising is most certainly relevant to whether this
child was involved in an ongoing sexually abusive
relationship with her parents, since they were in
custody and control of her.
[T)he injuries to the two year old's intimate areas are
highly probative of the abuse suffered by THIS child,
during THIS timeframe. To the extent that this might
be KRE 404(b) evidence, it is thus pattern or common
scheme evidence highly probative of whether
Defendant would subject the two year old to oral sex.
(emphasis added).
In its order entered one day before trial, the trial court ruled it would
allow the report and testimony of Dr. Crawford to be admitted at trial as KRE
404(b) evidence, because the evidence involving injury to the rectum was direct
evidence of the crime of sodomy, and the evidence of injury to the vagina was
relevant because Williams requested an instruction on the lesser included
offense of sexual abuse, first degree, of which vaginal trauma is direct evidence.
The trial court went on in its order to find that Dr. Crawford's report and
testimony were probative because "the evidence of trauma to K. [W] . contained
in the doctor's report is inexorably intertwined with the crimes as charged and
probative in value." At trial, the trial court did grant Williams' motion for a
limiting instruction regarding the testimony and report of Dr . Crawford . The
trial court admonished the jury that they could only consider the evidence of
vaginal trauma to K.W. for purposes of plan, scheme, or course of conduct.
Williams argues that it was reversible error to admit the evidence of
vaginal and anal injuries to K.W. under KRE 404(b) because there was no
evidence that he was the one who caused these injuries to K.W. and the
evidence of vaginal or anal trauma to K.W. was not relevant to the crime with
which he was charged - K.W. having Williams' penis in her mouth.
The Commonwealth counters that the evidence of vaginal/anal trauma
was direct evidence of the charge of sodomy and thus Williams incorrectly
characterizes it as evidence of prior bad acts. In the alternative, the
Commonwealth maintains that the evidence was admissible under KRE 404(b)
to prove that any sexual contact with K.W. was intentional on his part and
rebut Williams' claim of mistake - that he did not know the child had put his
penis in her mouth - and his assertion that it could have been Virginia's
relatives or Tommy Smith who caused the vaginal and anal injuries to K.W.
The confusion in this case stems from the fact that the record is unclear
whether the Commonwealth intended to charge Williams with incest and firstdegree sodomy for the one act of K.W. having Williams' penis in her mouth or a
second additional act of causing the vaginal and anal injuries to K.W. It
appears that the Commonwealth and the trial court were confused on this
issue as well. Although Williams was charged with incest and first-degree
sodomy, the allegation that Williams allowed or encouraged K.W. to put his
penis in her mouth could constitute either or both of those offenses . See
Worrmbles u. Commonwealth, 831 S.W.2d 172 (Ky. 1992) . There was nothing in
the record indicating that Williams was being charged with an offense/act
relating to contact with K.W.'s vagina or rectum until the Commonwealth's
response to the motion in limine one week prior to trial. And the indictment
was never amended to reflect that he was being charged for committing a crime
related to contact with K.W.'s vagina or rectum. Finally, the Commonwealth
admitted Williams was not being charged for causing the injuries to K.W.'s
vagina or rectum when it stated in its responses to the motion in limine that
the "charged act involved oral sex" and that the evidence from Dr. Crawford's
report was relevant "to show ongoing abuse of the child, beyond what the
Commonwealth has charged." Thus, the Commonwealth's and the trial court's
position that Dr. Crawford's testimony and report was direct evidence of the
crime charged is specious .
Even more unfounded is the assertion that the evidence of the injuries to
K.W.'s vaginal and anal areas was admissible under KRE 404(b) as direct
evidence of the crime charged. An act cannot be direct evidence of the crime
charged and be evidence of "other crimes, wrongs or acts" under KRE 404(b) .
Accordingly, we shall proceed to an analysis of whether the evidence of
vaginal and anal trauma to the child was properly admitted under KRE 404(b)
as an uncharged act offered to show "motive, opportunity, intent, preparation,
plan, knowledge, identity or absence of mistake or accident" or because it was
"inextricably intertwined with other evidence essential to the case ." This Court
will review a trial court's determinations on the admissibility of evidence for
abuse of discretion . See, e.g. Cook u. Commonwealth, 129 S.W.3d 351, 362
(Ky. 2004) . The court has abused its discretion when "the trial judge's decision
was arbitrary, unreasonable, unfair, or unsupported by sound legal principles."
Commonwealth u. English, 993 S.W.2d 941, 945 (Ky. 1999) . According to Bell
u. Commonwealth, 875 S.W.2d 882, 889 (Ky. 1994), for evidence to be admitted
under KRE 404(b), it must, meet the three-prong test this Court has
established, which looks to the (1) relevance (2) probativeness and (3) prejudice
of the proposed other crimes evidence . Benjamin u. Commonwealth, 266
S.W.3d 775, 791 (Ky. 2008).
The Commonwealth argues that the evidence of the vaginal and anal
trauma to K.W. was admissible under KRE 404(b)(1) to show his intent to have
sexual contact with K.W. and prove the absence of mistake in rebutting
Williams' claim that he was not aware of and did not encourage the child to put
his penis in her mouth. Williams maintains that Dr. Crawford's testimony and
report could not be admitted for this purpose because of a lack of
probativeness in that there was insufficient proof that Williams was the one
who had caused the vaginal and anal injuries to K.W. We agree.
On the issue of probativeness, the test is whether "evidence of the
uncharged crime [is] sufficiently probative of its commission by the accused to
warrant its introduction into evidence." Bell, 875 S.W.2d at 890. The United
States Supreme Court has held that "[i]n the Rule 404(b) context, similar act
evidence is relevant only if the jury can reasonably conclude that the act
occurred and that the defendant was the actor." Huddleston v. United States,
485 U.S. 681, 689 (1988) .
In the instant case, there was no evidence that Williams was the one who
caused the vaginal and anal trauma to K.W. While the child was very young
and there was evidence that she was in Virginia's and Appellant's custody
before she was removed from the home, there was no evidence even tying
K.W.'s injuries to a time when she had been in Appellant's care . On the
contrary, there was evidence from Carolyn Bray's testimony that she did not
observe the redness and swelling to K.W.'s vaginal area after she had been with
Appellant. Rather, she specifically noted that she observed the redness and
swelling after K.W. had been with Virginia's family and Tommy Smith.
Similarly, Benny Miller testified that the child claimed she had been hurt at
Nana's house and that a man there had taken off her clothes and made her
naked .
Accordingly, we adjudge the trial court abused its discretion in allowing
the testimony and report of Dr. Crawford to be admitted . There is no question
that this evidence was extremely prejudicial to Williams in this case. Hence,
we must vacate the convictions and remand for a new trial or for proceedings
consistent with this opinion. We shall address only the remaining assignments
of error which we anticipate will arise again on retrial.
TESTIMONY OF TOMMY SMITH REGARDING STATEMENT OF
VIRGINIA WILLIAMS
Virginia Williams did not testify in this case because she invoked the
spousal privilege in KRE 504(a). As stated above, however, the court allowed
neighbor Tommy Smith to testify to certain statements made by Virginia to him
when she was visiting him at his apartment . I One of the statements Smith
testified to was that K.W. wanted to suck on Virginia's nipples after watching
her father suck on Virginia's nipples. Smith testified that he said to Virginia
that Williams had been gone at his mother's house for most of the week, so
why was she letting the child do it now? According to Smith, Virginia said
"because she wanted to." The following exchange then occurred:
1 Although the trial court analyzed these statements under Crawford u. Washington, 541 U.S.
36 (2004), Williams does not argue on appeal that allowing Smith to testify to the above
statements of Virginia violated his Sixth Amendment right to confrontation .
14
Commonwealth : Was she breastfeeding?
Smith:
I don't know . . . not at the time . I
mean, [K.W .] wasn't even on the
bottle then.
Commonwealth :
Your understanding was this was
for a sexual purpose?
Smith:
That's the way I took it.
On cross-examination, defense counsel asked Smith about Virginia's
statement that she let K.W. suck on her nipples :
Defense: Did you get the idea it was for a purpose
other than child nourishment?
Smith:
[K.W.] was too old to be breastfed.
Defense: So you took it that she meant for some kind
of pleasure?
Smith:
Yes.
Williams argues that this statement should not have been admitted
under KRE 404(b) because it was not relevant for an acceptable purpose. The
trial court ruled that it was probative of the offense charged, reasoning that if
the child was permitted to suck on Virginia's breasts after watching Williams
do it, then it tended to show it was probable that she was likewise permitted to
suck on Williams' penis .
In this case, Smith's testimony indicated that the nipple sucking by the
child, although it was alleged to have been prompted by the child watching her
father do it, did not occur contemporaneously with the charged offense . There
was no evidence that the nipple sucking by K.W. involved Williams, other than
the fact that the child wanted to because she had witnessed him doing it to his
wife . It was undisputed that this was a separate incident or incidents . Thus, it
could not have been admissible under KRE 404(b)(2) (inextricably intertwined
with other essential evidence) .
The Commonwealth argued that it was admissible under KRE 404(b)(1)
to show pattern of conduct and to rebut Williams' claim of mistake and that he
did not encourage the child's behavior. Given the nature of the charges against
Williams, we cannot say it was an abuse of discretion to allow the evidence that
Williams encouraged and Virginia allowed K.W. to suck on her breasts for
pleasure . We agree that it was admissible to show pattern of conduct, intent,
and absence of mistake. See Clark u. Commonwealth, 223 S.W.3d 90, 96-97
(Ky. 2007) .
TESTIMONY OF TOMMY SMITH REGARDING K.W.'S ACTIONS AND
UTTERANCES
Smith also testified that K.W. pulled on the front of his shorts and said,
"suck, suck" when she was visiting his apartment with Virginia. When Smith
asked why K.W. would do this, Virginia replied that sometimes when K.W.
would be in bed while she and Williams were having sex, K.W. would grab
Williams' penis and bite it. Williams argues that the utterances and actions by
K.W. were inadmissible as hearsay and as evidence of child sexual abuse
accommodation syndrome.
The trial court ruled that Smith's testimony of the actions and utterances
of K.W. were admissible, reasoning as follows:
As the statements purportedly made by [K.W.] are not
being offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted,
the statements are not hearsay.
Moreover, it is
significantly probative that three ("3") weeks after the
alleged events [K.W.], an infant with highly limited
communication skills, uttered these words and made
sexual gestures . Considering the nature of the crimes
charged, Incest and Sodomy, First Degree, the Court
finds that the significant probative value of such
statements is not substantially outweighed by any
danger of undue prejudice to the Defendant's right to a
fair trial.
We agree with the trial court that the testimony that K.W. pulled on
Smith's shorts while saying "suck, suck" would not be hearsay because it was
not being offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. See Osborne u.
Commonwealth, 43 S.W.3d 234, 242 (Ky. 2001) ; KRE 801(c) . Rather, it was
being admitted to show that the child made the gestures while she said the
words "suck, suck."
Williams next claims that admission of such evidence amounted to
improper child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome (CSAAS) testimony.
The rule prohibiting admission of CSAAS testimony is that "a party cannot
introduce evidence of the habit of a class of individuals either to prove that
another member of the class acted the same way under similar circumstances
or to prove that the person was a member of that class because he/she acted
the same way under similar circumstances .
Kurtz u. Commonwealth, 172
S .W.3d 409, 414 (Ky. 2005) (quoting Miller v. Commonwealth, 77 S.W.3d 566,
571-72 (Ky. 2002)). Here, we agree with the Commonwealth that Smith's
testimony about K.W.'s actions and utterances did not fall within the
proscription against CSAAS testimony. There was no testimony by an expert or
anyone else in this case that K.W.'s behavior and words were consistent with
those of other children who had been sexually abused. Rather, Smith simply
testified to what he observed K.W. doing and saying.
The question then is one of relevance . Evidence will be considered
relevant if it has "any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of
consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable
than it would be without the evidence." KRE 401 . Given the act that was the
basis of the charges against Williams - allowing K.W. to suck his penis - we
believe the evidence that K.W. pulled on another male's shorts while saying
"suck, suck" was sufficiently probative to render it admissible .
TESTIMONY OF HOLLY KIRBY REGARDING K.W.'S ACTIONS AND
UTTERANCES
K.W.'s foster mother, Holly Kirby, testified that when she changed K.W.'s
diaper, K.W. "spread herself apart," cussed, and said "suck it." Kirby also
testified that during this period, when K.W. would see males, she would grab
her crotch and say "suck it," and described one particular incident in which
K.W. went up to a man in Walmart and said "suck" to him. As with Smith's
testimony regarding K.W.'s actions and utterances, Williams argues that
Kirby's testimony was likewise improperly admitted as hearsay and CSAAS
evidence . For the same reasons stated above, we conclude that Kirby's
testimony was not hearsay or CSAAS evidence. However, there is still a
question of its relevance to the charges against Williams.
Because of the child's young age (21 months) and the charges against
Williams, we believe it was significant that K.W. would associate the phrase
"suck it" with her genitals and would say the word "suck" to another male.
Further, we do not see that the probative value of said evidence was
outweighed by the potential for undue prejudice . KRE 403. Accordingly, we
cannot say that it was an abuse of discretion for the trial court to allow this
evidence to be admitted.
EVIDENCE OF DILDO AND K.W. SUCKING ON CD TOWER
Williams argues that the evidence of the dildo on the floor of the
Williamses' bedroom and Sheena Ballard's testimony that she observed K.W.
sucking on a protuberance on a computer tower while saying "suck" was
irrelevant and improperly admitted. Again, in light of the child's young age and
the charges against Williams, we believe it was significant that K.W. associated
the word "suck" with the act of sucking on the end of the computer tower. We
also view the presence of the dildo on the floor where K.W. would see it as
relevant in this case because it tended to corroborate the allegation that the
Williamses openly engaged in sexual acts in front of the child . Hence, there
was no abuse of discretion in allowing this evidence to be admitted .
REFERENCE TO APPELLANTS' COMPUTER USER NAME AND PASSWORD
During the testimony of social worker Joyce Cummings, the
Commonwealth asked what Williams liked to do in his spare time. Cummings
replied that he liked to play computer games, and in the course of this
testimony, stated that his user name was "Demon Man" and his password was
666.69. The defense objected and moved for a mistrial. The trial court agreed
that the evidence was irrelevant and prejudicial, but declined to grant the
mistrial. Instead the judge admonished to jury to disregard the references to
his user name and password . We agree that this evidence was irrelevant and
prejudicial in this case and trust that it will not be repeated on retrial. KRE
401 ; KRE 402.
JURY INSTRUCTIONS
Williams submitted jury instructions for incest and sodomy, first degree,
stating that the jury must find that Williams "intentionally engaged in deviate
sexual intercourse with [K.W.]" The trial court ruled that the instructions
should not contain the specific mental state of "intent" because neither crime is
defined as an intentional offense. KRS 510.070; KRS 530.020 . Rather, the
court adjudged that the required mental state was covered by the element of
"sexual gratification" in the definition of "deviate sexual intercourse." KRS
510 .010(1) .
KRS 501 .030(2) provides that a person cannot be guilty of a criminal
offense unless that person has
engaged in such conduct intentionally, knowingly,
wantonly or recklessly as the law may require, with
respect to each element of the offense, except that this
requirement does not apply to any offense which
imposes absolute liability, as defined in KRS 501 .050.
Pursuant to KRS 501 .050, one of the culpable mental states is required
for all criminal offenses unless the offense is a violation, a misdemeanor, or one
defined outside the Penal Code. Williams asserts that because incest and
sodomy do not fall within any of these categories, a culpable mental state is
required to convict him of either of these offenses .
The offenses of sodomy and incest do not specifically contain a culpable
mental state within their definitions. KRS 510 .070; KRS 530.020 . They do
require a finding that the defendant engaged in "deviate sexual intercourse,"
i.e., an "act of sexual gratification," which is a jury question that was decided
adversely to Williams. KRS 510.010. This is consistent with our previous
rulings in Malone v. Commonwealth, 636 S.W.2d 647 (Ky. 1982) and Isaacs u.
Commonwealth, 553 S.W.2d 843, 845 (Ky. 1977) . See also Meadows v.
Commonwealth, 178 S.W.3d 527, 532 (Ky. App. 2005) ("[T]he statute for firstdegree rape does not require any particular state of mind, such as intent or
knowledge .").
In Malone and Isaacs, wherein the defendant was convicted of firstdegree rape and first-degree sodomy in the former case and first-degree rape of
a child under age 12 in the latter, the Court had before it the question of
whether lack of a mental state to form intent to commit the crimes due to
voluntary intoxication was a defense to the crimes. In both cases, this Court
found that the act constituted the crime without any other showing of intent,
reasoning that the Legislature did not intend to inject a culpable mental state
such as knowledge or intent into the crimes of rape and sodomy so as to make
the defense of voluntary intoxication available to the defendant. Malone, 636
S.W.2d at 647-48 ; Isaacs, 553 S.W.2d at 845.
In the instant case, there is no claim of intoxication . However, Williams
argues that due to his claim that he was unaware that the child had her mouth
on his penis, he was entitled to an instruction on sodomy and incest containing
an intentional mental state. We agree with the trial court that the requirement
of a finding of "sexual gratification" in KRS 510.010(1) subsumes the element of
intent because one cannot engage in an act of sexual gratification without the
appropriate level of consciousness to achieve it.
Williams also argues that he was entitled to a specific definition of
"engaging in" in the instructions. The trial court rejected Williams' request to
include this definition in the instructions, but advised defense counsel that he
could make the argument about what constitutes "engaging in" in his closing
argument . Given our preference for "bare bones" instructions, we adjudge that
the trial court did not err in not including a definition for "engaging in" in the
instructions . See Hodge u. Commonwealth, 17 S.W.3d 824, 850 (Ky. 2000) .
All sitting. Minton, C.J. ; Abramson, Cunningham, Noble, Scott, and
Venters, JJ ., concur. Schroder, J., concurs in part and dissents in part by
separate opinion.
SCHRODER, J., CONCURRING IN PART, DISSENTING IN PART: While I
agree with the majority on the main issue here - that it was reversible error to
permit the testimony of Dr. Crawford regarding the physical injuries to the
child - I depart from the majority on certain of the other evidentiary rulings in
the case.
As to the testimony of Tommy Smith about the child sucking on the
mother's breast, Smith did not witness the act and it was apparent from
Smith's testimony that he did not know whether K.W. was breastfeeding at the
time. He simply presumed she was not breastfeeding because of her age and
the fact that she was not drinking from a bottle anymore. It is not uncommon
for children to still be breastfeeding at 21 months of age, and KRS 211 .755
specifically provides that breastfeeding a child shall not be considered "sexual
conduct." Virginia did not tell Smith that she was allowing K.W. to suck on her
breasts for sexual pleasure. Rather, according to Smith's testimony, Virginia
stated that she allowed K.W. to do it because she (K.W.) wanted to. Smith
merely testified that he "took it" she was doing this for pleasure or for a sexual
purpose.
Moreover, there was no evidence that the act of K.W. sucking on
Virginia's breast involved Williams. It was undisputed that these were separate
acts that did not occur contemporaneous with the charged offense. Given the
speculative nature of Smith's testimony and the fact that there was no evidence
linking Williams to the act, I believe it was not sufficiently relevant to, or
probative of, the charged act of oral sodomy to be admissible in Williams" case.
See Bell, 875 S.W.2d at 889 .
I likewise believe that the testimony of Holly Kirby about K.W. touching
her own genitals and saying "suck" while having her diaper changed was
admitted in error. Unlike the evidence of K.W. saying "suck" while pulling on
the front of Tommy Smith's shorts, I do not believe that the evidence of the
child touching herself while saying "suck" can be considered evidence tending
to show that Williams encouraged or allowed K.W. to suck his penis . Williams
was not charged with a crime involving contact with K.W.'s genitals and that is
why the majority properly adjudged that the evidence of injury to the child's
genital areas was improperly admitted . I would agree with Williams that
evidence of this type is in the nature of the discredited child sexual abuse
accommodation syndrome evidence because of the inference that a child
touching her genitals while saying "suck" is proof that a sexual crime has been
committed against the child. See Hellstrom u. Commonwealth, 825 S.W.2d 612
(Ky. 1992) (diagnosis of sexual abuse based on behavior has no probative value
and is inadmissible) .
As to the evidence of K.W. sucking on the computer tower while saying
"suck," I fail to see how this is relevant to the charge against Williams. The
charge against Williams did not involve the use of any inanimate object or sex
toy. I believe this is clearly in the nature of child abuse accommodation
syndrome evidence because of the sweeping inference that if the child sucked
on an artificial object while saying "suck," it means she has performed oral sex
on a male. See Lantrip v. Commonwealth, 713 S.W. 816 (Ky. 1986) . Even if
there was some probative value to the evidence, under KRE 403, I believe it
was substantially outweighed by the danger of undue prejudice.
Finally, as to Smith's testimony that he observed a dildo on the
Williamses' bedroom floor, I view this evidence as KRE 404(b) evidence which
was not admissible for any of the purposes in KRE 404(b)(1). There was no
evidence that the dildo was involved with or had any relevance to the crime for
which Williams was charged, and I believe the evidence to be highly prejudicial.
COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT:
Susan Jackson Balliett
Assistant Public Advocate
Dept. of Public Advocacy
100 Fair Oaks Lane, Ste. 302
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
COUNSEL FOR APPELLEE :
Jack Conway
Attorney General of Kentucky
Heather Michelle Fryman
Assistant Attorney General
Office of Criminal Appeals
Office of the Attorney General
1024 Capital Center Drive
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
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