Bennett v. State

971 So. 2d 196, 2007 WL 4561540
District Court of Appeal of Florida·Decided December 31, 2007·No. 1D06-4441·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

971 So.2d 196 (2007)

Henry L. BENNETT, Jr., Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 1D06-4441.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

December 31, 2007.

*197 Nancy A. Daniels, Public Defender, and Joel Arnold, Assistant Public Defender, Tallahassee, for Appellant.

*198 Bill McCollum, Attorney General, Carolyn J. Mosley, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellee.

THOMAS, J.

Appellant appeals his convictions for attempted sexual battery, sexual battery, and lewd and lascivious molestation, asserting that the trial court reversibly erred in finding the child victim, N.D.D., competent to testify and that it erred in imposing sentence based on double jeopardy violations and improper assessment of victim injury points. We affirm the trial court's rulings in all respects.

We begin by summarizing the relevant facts, emphasizing the competency proceedings conducted here which included an examination of N.D.D., the defense expert's testimony regarding her competency, and the trial court's ruling finding her competent to testify. We also review the relevant trial testimony and the State's closing argument. We first address Appellant's argument challenging the trial court's ruling on competency and then his two arguments challenging his sentence.

Facts

Appellant was charged with one count of sexual battery by vaginal penetration or union with Appellant's penis between June 1, 2004 and June 18, 2005; one count of sexual battery by digital penetration; and two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation based on unlawful and intentional touching of N.D.D.'s breasts, genitals, or buttocks.

Competency Examination of N.D.D.

On the morning of trial, the court conducted a competency examination to determine N.D.D.'s competence to testify. N.D.D. testified that she was 12 years old and identified the middle school she attended, her favorite subject and her favorite books. She testified about what she did yesterday and told the court what she received as gifts last Christmas. She said she knew the importance of telling the truth; that telling the truth is "good" while telling a lie is "bad." She correctly answered a question regarding color and promised to "tell only what really happened."

The trial court correctly concluded that it needed to determine whether N.D.D. understood her duty to tell the truth. Appellant's counsel attempted to ask N.D.D. several questions regarding the importance of telling the truth in court and what "might happen" if she lied in court versus lying somewhere else, such as at home. N.D.D. seemed confused by counsel's questions, so the court attempted to simplify them, asking, "What happens if you tell a lie, in general?" N.D.D. said, "I don't know. You tell the truth." Additionally, N.D.D. could not answer counsel's question regarding what would happen if she told her mother a lie and her mother found out.

The court later asked N.D.D., "Would [you] ever tell your teacher a lie?" N.D.D. answered no and promised the court she would tell the truth. The court inquired about whether N.D.D. knew why she was in court; after replying no, the court asked, "Did some things happen to you that these ladies want to ask you about some things that happened to you a while back?" When N.D.D. answered yes, the court asked if she was going to tell the truth or a lie when she testified; N.D.D. answered, "Truth."

The court further inquired whether anyone told her to "say something that was a lie?" She answered, "No." The court asked, "If you tell us what happened, do you understand that you need to tell us nothing but the truth?" She answered, "Yes."

*199 Appellant's counsel asked N.D.D. if anyone told her what to say, and she replied that she was told, "Tell the truth." When asked if anyone told her "not to say something happened when it really happened," she answered, "No."

The court asked N.D.D. if "anyone [told] her to say something that was not true? Did anyone tell you to say something that was a lie?" She answered no, but also answered "good" when asked if "someone told you [to say something that was not true], would that be a good thing or a bad thing?"

Dr. James Larson, an expert witness who reviewed N.D.D.'s pretrial deposition and watched her in court, testified that N.D.D. does not have a mental age of 12 years. In his opinion, she has "significant expressive and receptive language impairments" and some of her answers were irrelevant, incorrect, or not responsive. Dr. Larson noted that she could not describe the difference between telling the truth in court or at home and gave inconsistent answers regarding the number of sex acts Appellant allegedly committed. In noting that N.D.D. answered yes when the court asked, "Do you mind if I ask you some questions," Dr. Larson concluded that she felt pressure to cooperate and obtain approval.

Dr. Larson admitted that he had heard adults incorrectly answer a "do you mind" question. He also acknowledged that N.D.D. may have thought the question regarding the number of sex acts referred to the number of acts on a particular day, not the total number of acts. Dr. Larson noted that many child witnesses have deficiencies, recognizing that N.D.D. did better in court than during her deposition, and agreed that a person could be mentally impaired or deficient and still be competent to testify.

The trial court ruled N.D.D. was competent to testify, finding that she understood her responsibility to tell the truth; the difference between a truth and a lie; why she was testifying; and that she had the ability to recollect and understand facts about which she would testify. The court noted that it was satisfied that N.D.D. could communicate and respond to properly framed questions and that many of Appellant's arguments related to the weight and credibility her testimony should receive, rather than to its admissibility.

Trial Testimony

At trial, a family friend testified that she picked up N.D.D. from Appellant's home on June 17, 2005, to go to church. N.D.D. looked shocked to see her, was wearing revealing clothes, her hair was scattered, and she had a white substance around her mouth. When they arrived at church, N.D.D.'s cousin told the friend to take N.D.D. home. The cousin later took her to the hospital for an examination and overheard N.D.D. say Appellant touched her and "put his thing in her," and she did not like it.

Appellant's cousin, N.D.D.'s current guardian, testified that N.D.D. has a learning disability and speaks slower than average.

N.D.D. testified that she was born May 23, 1994, and lives with her cousin. She testified that she went to Appellant's home after school and that while on his bed, Appellant frequently rubbed her vagina and breasts with his fingers, kissed her breasts, and touched her vagina with his penis. She testified that Appellant told her he would make a woman out of her, but not to tell anyone.

The Child Protection Team case coordinator testified that N.D.D. said Appellant touched her breasts and vaginal areas with his hand and penis.

*200 Patrick Murray, M.D., a pediatrician, examined N.D.D., finding secretions on her pubic hair, but no evidence of injury or tissue trauma. N.D.D. did not report any sexual penetration to him, but Dr. Murray testified that she might not be able to describe the difference between "on" and "in" due to her mild developmental delays.

Detective Brian Jones testified that he went to

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