PEOPLE OF MI V JOHN ANDREW BLACKWOOD
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
UNPUBLISHED
February 5, 2004
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v
No. 243324
Livingston Circuit Court
LC No. 01-012373-FH
JOHN ANDREW BLACKWOOD,
Defendant-Appellant.
Before: Cooper, P.J., and O’Connell and Fort Hood, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Defendant appeals as of right his sentence of 5 to 15 years in prison for his conviction of
third degree criminal sexual conduct (CSC III), the victim being physically helpless, MCL
750.520d(1)(c), imposed after a jury trial. We affirm. This appeal is being decided without oral
argument pursuant to MCR 7.214(E).
Defendant was charged with two counts of CSC III and one count of furnishing alcohol
to a minor, MCL 436.1701, as a result of allegations made by complainant, the seventeen-yearold daughter of his girlfriend, that he engaged in two acts of sexual intercourse with her when
she was so intoxicated as to be physically helpless. Complainant testified that defendant
engaged in sexual intercourse with her against her will on two occasions. She denied that any
other type of sexual activity occurred. Defendant admitted that he engaged in sexual intercourse
with complainant on two occasions, but contended that the activity was consensual and that
complainant was not physically helpless. Defendant asserted that prior to engaging in sexual
intercourse complainant performed fellatio on him and he penetrated her vagina with his fingers.
He maintained that these acts were consensual. The jury found defendant guilty of one count of
CSC III and of furnishing alcohol to a minor, and acquitted him of the second count of CSC III.
The applicable statutory sentencing guidelines for CSC III recommended a minimum
term range of 36 to 60 months. Offense Variable (OV) 11, MCL 777.41, criminal sexual
penetration, allows the scoring of fifty points if two or more sexual penetrations occurred in
addition to the penetration that formed the basis of the conviction. MCL 777.41(1)(a), (2)(c).
Defendant objected to the scoring of OV 11 at fifty points on the ground that the three
penetrations on which the scoring was based, the acts of digital penetration and fellatio and the
act of sexual intercourse of which he was acquitted, were not criminal acts because they were
consensual. The trial court concluded that the scoring of OV 11 at fifty points was appropriate,
and found that a preponderance of the evidence showed that at least one nonconsensual act of
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digital penetration occurred in addition to the act of sexual intercourse of which defendant was
acquitted. The trial court sentenced defendant to 5 to 15 years in prison for CSC III, with credit
for 40 days, and fined him $1,000 for furnishing alcohol to a minor.
In calculating the sentencing guidelines, the trial court has discretion to determine the
number of points to be scored, provided that evidence in the record supports a particular score.
We will not reverse a scoring decision for which there is any evidence in the record. People v
Hornsby, 251 Mich App 462, 468; 650 NW2d 700 (2002).
Defendant argues that the trial court abused its discretion by scoring OV 11 at fifty
points, and that he is entitled to resentencing on his conviction of CSC III.1 We disagree and
affirm defendant’s sentence. The trial court used the penetration underlying the charge of CSC
III of which defendant was acquitted and the digital penetration admitted by defendant as the
basis of its scoring of OV 11 at fifty points. MCL 777.41(1)(a). The trial court properly
considered the penetration underlying the charge of which defendant was acquitted. People v
Harris, 190 Mich App 652, 663; 476 NW2d 767 (1991). Furthermore, the trial court was
entitled to rely on defendant’s testimony that he engaged in digital penetration with complainant,
People v Walker, 428 Mich 261, 267, n 18; 407 NW2d 367 (1987), but was not required to
accept his characterization of the act as consensual. The evidence on which the jury relied to
find that defendant sexually penetrated complainant when she was so intoxicated as to be
physically helpless also supported the trial court’s finding that the act of digital penetration was
not consensual. Furthermore, defendant cites no authority to support his assertion that
independent proof of the corpus delicti of another act must be admitted before a trial court can
consider the testimony of an accused when scoring the guidelines. A trial court may consider all
record evidence when calculating the guidelines, including defendant’s bare admissions. People
v Warner, 190 Mich App 26, 28; 475 NW2d 397 (1991); Walker, supra. The trial court did not
abuse its discretion by scoring OV 11 at fifty points, so defendant is not entitled to resentencing.
Affirmed.
/s/ Jessica R. Cooper
/s/ Peter D. O’Connell
/s/ Karen M. Fort Hood
1
Defendant does not challenge his sentence for his conviction of furnishing alcohol to a minor.
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