Abbott v. State

196 S.W.3d 334, 2006 WL 1550810
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 11, 2006
Docket10-05-00312-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by119 cases

This text of 196 S.W.3d 334 (Abbott v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Abbott v. State, 196 S.W.3d 334, 2006 WL 1550810 (Tex. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinions

OPINION

BILL VANCE, Justice.

A jury convicted Johnny Abbott of indecency with a child and assessed a twenty-year prison sentence. Abbott’s appeal asserts errors in both trial phases. We will affirm the judgment of conviction but will reverse the sentence and remand the case for a new punishment hearing.

Sufficiency of the Evidence

We begin with Abbott’s complaints that the evidence is legally and factually insufficient. A person commits the offense of indecency with a child “if, with a child younger than 17 years and not the person’s spouse, whether the child is of the same or opposite sex, the person ... engages in sexual contact with the child or causes the child to engage in sexual contact.” Tex. Pen.Code Ann. § 21.11(a)(1) (Vernon 2003). In section 21.11, “sexual contact” means the following acts, if committed with the intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person: (1) any touching by a person, including touching through clothing, of the anus, breast, or any part of the genitals of a child; ... Id. § 21.11(c)(1). An offense under subsection (a)(1) is a second-degree felony. Id. § 21.11(d).

Standards of Review

When reviewing a challenge to the legal sufficiency of the evidence to establish the elements of a penal offense, we must determine whether, after viewing all the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. See Jackson v. Virginia^ 443 U.S. 307, 318-19, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). The standard is the same for both direct and circumstantial evidence eases. Kutz[339]*339ner v. State, 994 S.W.2d 180, 184 (Tex.Crim.App.1999). We do not resolve any conflict of fact or assign credibility to the witnesses, as this was the function of the trier of fact. See Dewberry v. State, 4 S.W.3d 735, 740 (Tex.Crim.App.1999); Adelman v. State, 828 S.W.2d 418, 421 (Tex.Crim.App.1992). Instead, our duty is to determine if the findings of the trier of fact are rational by viewing all of the evidence admitted at trial in the light most favorable to the verdict. Adelman, 828 S.W.2d at 422. In so doing, any inconsistencies in the evidence are resolved in favor of the verdict. Curry v. State, 30 S.W.3d 394, 406 (Tex.Crim.App.2000).

In a factual sufficiency review, we view all of the evidence in a neutral light and consider only whether a jury was rationally justified in finding guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Zuniga v. State, 144 S.W.3d 477, 484 (Tex.Crim.App.2004). However, there are two ways in which the evidence may be insufficient. Id. First, when considered by itself, evidence supporting the verdict may be too weak to support the finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. Second, there may be both evidence supporting the verdict and evidence contrary to the verdict. Id. Weighing all the evidence under this balancing scale, the contrary evidence may be strong enough that the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard could not have been met, so the guilty verdict should not stand. Id. at 485. This standard acknowledges that evidence of guilt can preponderate in favor of conviction but still be insufficient to prove the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. Stated another way, evidence supporting guilt can outweigh the contrary proof and still be factually insufficient under a beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard. Id.

Zuniga also reminds us that we must defer to the jury’s determination. See id. at 481 (citing Cain v. State, 958 S.W.2d 404, 407 (Tex.Crim.App.1997)). The jury determines the credibility of the witnesses and may “believe all, some, or none of the testimony.” Chambers v. State, 805 S.W.2d 459, 461 (Tex.Crim.App.1991). It is the jury that accepts or rejects reasonably equal competing theories of a case. Goodman v. State, 66 S.W.3d 283, 285 (Tex.Crim.App.2001). The evidence is not factually insufficient merely because the factfinder resolved conflicting views of evidence in favor of the State. Cain, 958 S.W.2d at 410.

The Evidence

In July 2004, after receiving a report that accused Abbott of indecency, Lt. Molly Dox of the Ovilla Police Department set up a videotaped interview at the children’s advocacy center with the complainant, W.T., and her mother, Sharon. Abbott was later arrested and indicted.

Sharon and W.T.’s father, Randy, were divorced. Randy had remarried Janice, whose twin sister Jane is Abbott’s wife. The twin sisters were close, and as a result, Randy and Janice spent much time around the Abbotts. Randy had possession of W.T. two weekends a month, and on those weekends, W.T. usually went to the Abbotts’ home in Ovilla in Ellis County to visit. Sharon, the State’s outcry witness, testified that W.T. told her that Abbott had touched her “privates” several times. W.T. specifically related that Abbott had been showing her how to do something on his home computer when he put his hands in her pants and rubbed her privates.

W.T., who was age nine and in the third grade at the time of trial, testified at trial that Abbott had touched her private spots more than one time, but she could specifically remember only two occasions. The first incident that she could remember [340]*340happened at his house in the computer room. When everyone else had left the room, Abbott unzipped her pants and touched her privates. W.T. sometimes called this area her “bladder,” and she explained that bladder and private meant the same thing, which she identified in a picture as the female sexual organ. She said that Abbott had placed his hand inside her underwear, with the skin of his hand touching her skin.1 When Abbott touched her, he would move his hand in a circular motion; he would not speak to her while he was touching her, and afterwards he would act as if nothing had happened. She felt sad and scared when Abbott touched her.

Lt. Dox and Sharon admitted that W.T.’s father was always with W.T. on these visits to the Abbotts when the acts occurred, but W.T. never reported anything to him or to Janice. There was no allegation that Abbott had groomed or favored W.T., that Abbott had told W.T. to keep the acts a secret, or that he had threatened to harm W.T. if she told anyone. There was no physical or medical evidence. Nor were there any eyewitnesses; W.T. said that Abbott touched her only when they were alone. W.T. never mentioned anything about Abbott’s being aroused while he was touching her.

Sharon said that W.T. had not been exhibiting unusual or scared behavior before W.T. reported the incidents to her, and W.T. never evidenced any hesitancy to go to Abbott’s home. W.T. did exhibit scared behavior after the report, but she continued to do well in school, which had not reported any behavioral problems, such as sexually acting out.

Abbott testified; he said that W.T. had been to his home many times with her father over a period of about six years. He denied ever touching her genitals. W.T. could have been in the room while he was loading photographs on the computer, but he was not alone with her. He never showed W.T.

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Bluebook (online)
196 S.W.3d 334, 2006 WL 1550810, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/abbott-v-state-texapp-2006.