Baker v. State

804 So. 2d 564, 2002 WL 63354
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedJanuary 18, 2002
Docket1D01-9
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 804 So. 2d 564 (Baker v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Baker v. State, 804 So. 2d 564, 2002 WL 63354 (Fla. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

804 So.2d 564 (2002)

Willie J. BAKER, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 1D01-9.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

January 18, 2002.

Nancy A. Daniels, Public Defender and David P. Gauldin, Assistant Public Defender, Tallahassee, for Appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General and Robert R. Wheeler, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellee.

VAN NORTWICK, J.

Willie J. Baker appeals his conviction for committing a sexual act with a child under the age of 16 in violation of section 800.04(3), Florida Statutes (1997). He contends that the trial court erred in denying *565 his proffered evidence that the victim had falsely accused others of sexual crimes against her in the past. Because the undisputed evidence in the record establishes that appellant admitted having sex with the victim, we find any such error would be harmless beyond a reasonable doubt and we affirm.

Investigator Haire of the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office received an abuse report from the Department of Protective Services that the victim, D.A., who was 15 years old, had been forced by appellant, her brother-in-law, to have sexual intercourse with him. Investigator Haire interviewed appellant and took a recorded statement from him. The following are excerpts from that statement:

INVESTIGATOR HAIRE: D.A. had said that you had forced her to have sexual intercourse with you two times. Is this true?
MR. BAKER: Yes.
INVESTIGATOR HAIRE: It is true?
MR. BAKER: We started off playing around and it led to other things. And it led around to it. But, didn't nothing happen. I couldn't do it.
* * *
INVESTIGATOR HAIRE: Okay. And inside the house there you said you got to playing around. Start from the beginning and tell me what all happened.
MR. BAKER: Well, we started playing around with one another and one thing led to another. And it got down to where I tried to have sex with her. I couldn't. I couldn't do it.
* * *
INVESTIGATOR HAIRE: What kind of clothes? What was she wearing?
MR. BAKER: I can't remember exactly. I believe she had on—I believe she had on jeans. Had jeans, I think. I'm not sure about it.
INVESTIGATOR HAIRE: And she pulled those down to try to have sex with you?
MR. BAKER: Uh-huh.
INVESTIGATOR HAIRE: But, because of your condition, you said you weren't able to have sex?
MR. BAKER: I wasn't able.
INVESTIGATOR HAIRE: How old is she?
MR. BAKER: I think she's 15.
INVESTIGATOR HAIRE: Okay. Let's see. Her date of birth is in January. So I guess she would have just turned 15. Had you ever had sex with her?
MR. BAKER: Yes.
INVESTIGATOR HAIRE: Now, she said—she mentioned two times. Was there a second time?
MR. BAKER: No.
* * *
INVESTIGATORY HAIRE: When you were playing around with D.A. that day, did you intend for something like that to happen?
MR. BAKER: No.
INVESTIGATOR HAIRE: Did it just get out of hand or what?
MR. BAKER: It did. I would say it got out of hand, just got out of hand.

Prior to trial, the trial court heard argument on whether appellant should be permitted to introduce evidence that, in the past, the victim falsely accused males who were in a custodial relationship with her of having had sex with her. The state argued that such evidence was irrelevant as it constituted an impermissible attack on the victim's credibility. The trial court delayed ruling on the matter, commenting that defense counsel should proffer the evidence before it was sought to be admitted and at that point the trial court would rule on its admissibility.

*566 The victim testified that one night at her sister and brother-in-law's trailer, when her sister had gone with a friend to a nightclub, appellant came over to her while she was lying on the couch and began touching her. He took her to the bedroom where he had sex with her using a condom. She testified that appellant placed his penis inside her vagina.

After the victim testified, defense counsel proffered certain cross-examination testimony about past instances in which the victim had falsely accused several male relatives of attempting to have sex with her. Defense counsel argued that the testimony was relevant to the victim's credibility and her veracity because "she's admitted here that at least on two occasions she accused people of having had sex with her when, in fact, that did not occur." In response, the state argued that the evidence was not relevant because appellant had admitted attempting to have sex with the victim. The state argued that evidence of specific instances of misconduct could not be used to attack the credibility of the victim. The trial court excluded the testimony from evidence. Similarly, the trial court refused to allow the testimony of several of the victim's relatives about these false accusations. Appellant's wife, along with others, did testify that the victim's reputation for truthfulness in the community was bad.

Appellant did not testify nor did he cross-examine Investigator Haire regarding the reliability of the recorded statement. Defense counsel argued to the jury in closing that the state failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant caused his sexual organ to penetrate or have union with the victim's vagina. Further, he argued that the victim was not a credible witness and that her testimony was the only testimony of physical contact between the appellant and her "and if you find that the victim is unreliable in that respect, then your verdict should be not guilty."

The jury returned a verdict finding appellant guilty as charged. He was sentenced to nine years in prison to be followed by three years probation.

Section 800.04 provides in pertinent part:

A person who:
* * *
(3) Commits an act defined as sexual battery under s. 794.011(1)(h) upon any child under the age of 16 years; ...
* * *
without committing the crime of sexual battery, commits a felony of the second degree, ...

Neither the victim's lack of chastity nor the victim's consent is a defense to the crime proscribed by this section.

Section 794.011(1)(h) defines sexual battery as follows:

(h) "Sexual battery" means oral, anal, or vaginal penetration by, or union with, the sexual organ of another or the anal or vaginal penetration of another by any other object; ...

Under this statute, sexual battery can be accomplished either by union or penetration. Seagrave v. State, 26 Fla. L. Weekly S481, S484, n. 7 (Fla. July 12, 2001). In Seagrave, the court approved the analysis of the Second District Court of Appeal in Richards v. State, 738 So.2d 415, 418 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999) that "the term `union' and the term `penetration' are used with some precision. Union permits a conviction based on contact with the relevant portion of anatomy, whereas penetration requires some entry into the relevant part, however slight." Id.

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Related

Baker v. McNeil
711 F. Supp. 2d 1313 (N.D. Florida, 2010)
Roebuck v. State
953 So. 2d 40 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2007)
Reeves v. State
862 So. 2d 60 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2003)
McCoy v. State
853 So. 2d 396 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2003)

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Bluebook (online)
804 So. 2d 564, 2002 WL 63354, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/baker-v-state-fladistctapp-2002.