PEOPLE OF MI V ANTONIO D RIOS
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
UNPUBLISHED
September 6, 2007
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v
No. 271833
Wayne Circuit Court
LC No. 06-002751-01
ANTONIO D. RIOS,
Defendant-Appellant.
Before: Cavanagh, P.J., and Donofrio and Servitto, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Defendant appeals as of right his convictions of first-degree criminal sexual conduct,
MCL 750.520b, and third-degree criminal sexual conduct, MCL 750.520d, for which the trial
court sentenced him to concurrent prison terms of 12 to 24 years and 7 to 15 years, respectively.
We affirm in part and remand for further factual findings by the trial court. This appeal is being
decided without oral argument pursuant to MCR 7.214(E).
The complainant, SH, is a 23-year-old physically and mentally impaired person with the
functional capacity of a teenager who was under the care of a legal guardian. A witness testified
that defendant was once at her house while SH was visiting. Defendant asked the witness if
there was something wrong with SH and was told that “she has a mental disability.”
SH testified that defendant was at her family’s home visiting her brother, who had invited
defendant to spend the night. When SH’s brother went to find defendant a blanket and a pillow,
defendant told SH that he wanted to talk to her. When she got up to see what he wanted, he
grabbed her arm, pulled her down to the floor, and placed his hands on her breasts beneath her
shirt. When defendant heard SH’s brother returning, he stopped. Later that night, when SH got
up to get a drink of water, defendant assaulted her again. SH testified that defendant pulled her
over by a stairway, pulled down her pants, and threatened to hurt her when she protested. He
touched her vagina with his finger and then inserted his penis into her anus. SH said she was
unable to get away because defendant was holding her sides. Afterward, SH discovered blood
and “nasty stuff” leaking from her anus. A medical examination the following night was
negative for rectal bleeding and external injuries. Rectal swabs and smears were negative for
sperm or seminal fluid. SH’s panties tested positive for sperm but negative for blood.
A police detective took a statement from defendant, who referred to SH as his friend’s
“dumb sister” and explained that she was dumb because she was 23 and “doesn’t know how to
talk.” Defendant first denied any wrongdoing but then admitted to having anal intercourse with
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SH. He said he was not initially forthcoming because “he had heard that he could get in trouble
if he had done something to a mental person[.]”
Defendant testified that he had no idea there was anything wrong with SH, but also
admitted that a friend of hers had told him that SH was retarded. He stated that he asked
permission to touch SH’s breasts and she consented. Later that night, SH voluntarily performed
fellatio on defendant and voluntarily engaged in anal intercourse. During that episode, defendant
admitted that he was “fingering” SH.
Defendant first contends that his due process rights were violated when his request for a
polygraph examination was not honored. The right to a polygraph examination is statutory
rather than constitutional and thus defendant must show that it is more probable than not that the
error was outcome determinative. MCL 776.21(5); People v Phillips, 469 Mich 390, 396; 666
NW2d 657 (2003).
At any time prior to an adjudication of guilt, a defendant charged with criminal sexual
conduct has an absolute right to receive a polygraph examination or lie detector test upon
request. MCL 776.21(5); Phillips, supra. Because defendant admitted that the sexual encounter
took place, the only issues to be resolved were whether the encounter was consensual and
whether defendant knew or had reason to know that SH was mentally incapable or incapacitated.
However, the results of the test on the issue of consent would not have been admissible at trial,
Phillips, supra at 397, and the prosecutor had indicated that regardless of the outcome of the test,
he would still pursue the charges. Accordingly, we conclude that defendant has failed to show
that the error affected the outcome of the case.
Defendant next contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions. In
reviewing a verdict reached in a bench trial, we review the trial court’s factual findings for clear
error and its conclusions of law de novo. People v Lanzo Constr Co, 272 Mich App 470, 473;
726 NW2d 746 (2006). The record discloses that the trial court failed to make the necessary
factual findings on the elements of the offenses of which defendant was convicted.
The judgment of sentence indicates that defendant was convicted of first-degree CSC
under MCL 750.520b(1)(g), which requires a finding that defendant knew or had reason to know
that the victim was mentally incapable or mentally incapacitated. However, the trial court found
that SH was capable of consenting to or refusing a sexual encounter, which indicates that the
court found that SH was not mentally incapable or mentally incapacitated. Defendant was
alternatively charged under MCL 750.520b(1)(f). The essential elements of that charge are that
the defendant “(1) causes personal injury to the victim, (2) engages in sexual penetration with the
victim, and (3) uses force or coercion to accomplish the sexual penetration.” People v Nickens,
470 Mich 622, 629; 685 NW2d 657 (2004).
The judgment of sentence indicates that defendant was convicted of third-degree CSC
predicated on personal injury. However, personal injury is not an element of third-degree CSC.
MCL 750.520d(1). Defendant was charged in the alternative with engaging in penetration
through the use of force or coercion or engaging in penetration with a person who was mentally
incapable or mentally incapacitated. MCL 750.520d(1)(b) and (c). Again, given that the trial
court implicitly found that SH was not mentally incapable or mentally incapacitated, it appears
that defendant was convicted under MCL 750.520d(1)(b).
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The trial court determined that SH had not consented to the sexual encounter but failed to
make any findings whether defendant utilized force or coercion as that term is defined in MCL
750.520b(1)(f) to accomplish either instance of penetration, and also failed to determine whether
defendant caused personal injury as that term is defined in MCL 750.520a(m) while engaging in
anal penetration. Because of the deficiencies in the trial court’s findings and the inconsistencies
in the judgment of sentence, we remand this case to the trial court for the necessary findings with
respect to the elements of the crimes of which defendant was convicted.
Affirmed in part and remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. We
retain jurisdiction.
/s/ Mark J. Cavanagh
/s/ Pat M. Donofrio
/s/ Deborah A. Servitto
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