Ashcraft v. State

918 S.W.2d 648, 1996 WL 120982
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 22, 1996
Docket10-95-206-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by40 cases

This text of 918 S.W.2d 648 (Ashcraft 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
Ashcraft v. State, 918 S.W.2d 648, 1996 WL 120982 (Tex. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

OPINION

VANCE, Justice.

David Bradley Ashcraft, the appellant, was charged by indictment with two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one count of indecency with a child. TexPenal Code Ann. §§ 21.11(a)(1), 22.021(a)(1)(B)(i) (Vernon 1994). The indictment was based upon allegations from K.A., Ashcraft’s twelve-year-old daughter, that Ashcraft had sexually assaulted her on two separate occasions. He pled not guilty to all three counts, and a jury convicted him as charged. The jury assessed punishment at thirty years in prison for the two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and twenty years in prison for the indecency count.

Ashcraft appeals on two points. He first complains that the court erred by denying his motion for new trial, which was based on the newly discovered evidence that KA recanted her allegations against him. His second complaint is that the court erred by admitting a photograph of KA’s genitalia because the prejudicial effect of the photograph outweighed its probative value. Because we find that the record supports the court’s finding that KA’s recanting testimony was false and that the photograph at issue did not present a danger of unfair prejudice that substantially outweighed its probative value, we conclude that the court did not abuse its discretion. We will affirm the judgment.

COMPLAINANT’S TESTIMONY AT TRIAL

KA testified at trial on March 28, 1995, that Ashcraft sexually assaulted her on two separate occasions: once in April 1994, and once in June 1994.

APRIL 1994 Assault

According to the record, KA’s mother took a trip out of state sometime in April 1994. As a result, K.A was alone with her father and her three sisters overnight. After her three sisters were in their own beds, Ashcraft told KA to go sleep in his bed “because it was cold.” K.A related that the *651 following events occurred when Ashcraft joined her in his bed:

[PROSECUTOR]: What happened?
[KA.]: He asked me if I wanted to play around. I thought he was joking around so I said, “Yeah.” And he told me to take my underwear off and I did. And he put his privates inside of me.
[PROSECUTOR]: When you talk about “privates”, tell the jury what you mean by that?
[KA]: His penis inside of me.
[PROSECUTOR]: So he told you to take your underwear off; is that correct?
[KA]: Yes, sir.
[PROSECUTOR]: Did you do that?
[KA]: Yes, sir.
[PROSECUTOR]: And what did he do?
[KA]: He put his penis inside of me.
[PROSECUTOR]: How did you feel?
[KA]: I was really scared.
[PROSECUTOR]: Did it hurt?
[KA]: Yes, sir.
[PROSECUTOR]: Did he touch you anywhere else or anything?
[KA]: He touched me on my private. And he started kissing my breasts.
[PROSECUTOR]: Do you remember how long he had his private inside of you?
[KA]: For a few seconds.
[[Image here]]
[PROSECUTOR]: Okay. Then what happened?
[KA]: And then he told me to put my underwear back on and I did. And then we went to sleep.
[PROSECUTOR]: What happened the next morning?
[KA]: He made breakfast for me and my sisters, and we ate. He told me to help him make his bed. While I was helping make his bed he told me not to tell nobody.

June 1994 Assault

The record indicates that KA’s mother took another trip out of state sometime in June of 1994. One of KA’s sister’s accompanied KA’s mother on this trip, leaving KA alone with her father and her other two sisters. As KA lay sleeping in her own bed, Ashcraft woke her up by tickling her and told her to go sleep in his bedroom. KA testified that the following events occurred when Ashcraft joined her in his bed:

[PROSECUTOR]: What happened?
[KA]: And then, and then after that, he asked me if I wanted to play around again. And I was scared to say no, so I said, ‘Yeah.” And he told me to take my underwear off. And then he put his private inside of me again.
[[Image here]]
[PROSECUTOR]: And did it hurt again?
[KA]: Yes, sir.
[PROSECUTOR]: How long was his private part inside of you?
[KA]: About a couple of seconds. 1
[PROSECUTOR]: What happened then?
[KA]: And then he had me touch his private.
[PROSECUTOR]: How did that happen?
[KA]: He took my hand and put it on his private.
[PROSECUTOR]: Did you want to do that?
[KA]: No, sir.
[PROSECUTOR]: How did that come about? He took your hand?
[KA]: Yes, sir.
[PROSECUTOR]: And he put it on his private?
[KA]: Yes, sir.
[PROSECUTOR]: Did he say anything?
[KA]: And then I kept taking it away. He told me it didn’t bite.
[[Image here]]
*652 [PROSECUTOR]: And did you keep your hand on his private?
[KA]: No, I kept taking it off.
[[Image here]]
[PROSECUTOR]: What did he do?
[KA.]: He kept putting it back on.
[PROSECUTOR]: How did you feel?
[KA]: I felt weird.
[PROSECUTOR]: Were you scared?
[KA]: Yes, sir.
[PROSECUTOR]: Did he touch you again anywhere else?
[KA]: Yes, sir. He touched me on my private, and he kissed me on my breasts.
[PROSECUTOR]: Kissed you on your breasts and touched you on your private with what?
[KA]: With his hand.
[PROSECUTOR]: Did you go to the bathroom after that?
[KA]: Yes, sir.
[PROSECUTOR]: Did you see anything?
[KA]: Something white came out when I used the restroom.

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Bluebook (online)
918 S.W.2d 648, 1996 WL 120982, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ashcraft-v-state-texapp-1996.