Bresson v. State

498 N.E.2d 91
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 8, 1986
DocketNo. 49A04-8603-CR-64
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 498 N.E.2d 91 (Bresson v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bresson v. State, 498 N.E.2d 91 (Ind. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinions

MILLER, Judge.

Frederick Douglas Bresson pled guilty to child molesting, a class C felony, was convicted, and the trial court imposed the maximum statutory sentence of eight years. Bresson raises only one issue in his motion to correct errors and appellate brief, claiming the maximum sentence is manifestly unreasonable in light of the nature of the offense and the character of the defendant. Bresson argues the mitigating factors, including his lack of prior criminal record, his job and service in the Armed Forces in Viet Nam, his remorse and voluntary therapy, outweigh the aggravating factors of the victim's young age (23 months), and the recommendations by the victim's parents and the probation officer for maximum sentence. Bresson asks this court to modify his sentence to below the presumptive five years and suspend sentence to probation with condition Bresson receive therapy for his child sexual impulses.

We affirm.

FACTS

On February 7, 1985, Patrick and Shirley Ross were painting an apartment located across the hall from Bresson's apartment. Bresson came over and talked to the Ross-es, and began playing hide and seek with their daughter, Amanda, who was 23 months old at the time. Bresson played with Amanda for approximately 30 to 60 minutes. When the Rosses began cleaning up and carrying out their equipment, Bres-son volunteered to babysit for Amanda so that she would not be in their way. The Rosses agreed, and Bresson took Amanda into his apartment, and léft the door open.

On the third or fourth trip back to the apartment where she had been working, Shirley Ross noticed that defendant's door was closed. She knocked loudly on the door, which was locked, and received no answer. She went to find her husband and when they returned, Bresson was opening the door. When questioned, Bresson claimed he had locked the door for Amanda's safety, to prevent her from leaving the apartment.

On April 15, 1985, special agents Ronald Wolfick and Larry Intelligence were given permission by Bresson to search his apart ment for electronic components which were missing from the Naval Avionics Corporation where Bresson was employed as a contract negotiator. During their search, which did not produce the missing electronics, they discovered child pornographic literature which included twenty-two polaroid photographs. Four of these photographs were identified by Shirley Ross as photos of her daughter, Amanda, who was shown nude from the waist down. Specifically, one photograph showed a white male adult hand, touching Amanda in the vaginal area.

Mrs. Ross stated that February 7, 1985 was the only time that Bresson was alone with her daughter. The top worn by Amanda in the picture was identified as the same top she was wearing on that evening. Furthermore, Bresson was the only person in his apartment with Amanda on that date.

The State filed a two count information charging Bresson with the offenses of child molesting, a class C felony, and child exploitation, a class D felony. On September 20, 1985 Bresson entered a plea of guilty as to Count I of the information, pursuant to a written plea agreement which was submitted to the court. The court advised Bresson as to his rights and took the plea under advisement. The written plea agreement provided that Count II of the information would be dismissed by the State if Bresson pleaded guilty as charged to Count [93]*93I and the State agreed to make no recommendation as to sentencing.

On October 10, 1985 the court conducted a sentencing hearing after the filing of a presentence report. The court heard testimony from several witnesses.

Testimony by Bresson, his sister, and his aunt established that although Bresson had a very unstable childhood, he had no previous criminal history as a juvenile or adult. His mother died when he was four years old. His father remarried several times thereafter. His father, a college professor, moved the family many times while Bres-son was growing up. There was a great deal of conflict between Bresson and his father. According to Bresson's sister, his father was a "diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic" who had caused trouble for all of his children during their childhood and adolescence. Despite his unhappy childhood, Bresson is a college graduate who served in the United States Army from 1968 through 1970 in Viet Nam. He received an honorable discharge from the Army after obtaining the rank of staff sargeant. While serving in Viet Nam, Bresson received numerous military honors. Bresson had been employed at Naval Avionics in Indianapolis, Indiana for a period of six years and nine months prior to his arrest in this case. Bresson resigned from this job and in the three months prior to his sentencing, had been employed by Dominos Pizza as a driver earning minimum wage, working thirty to forty hours per week.

After his arrest, Bresson sought therapy at the Davis Psychiatric Clinic. Dr. Larry Davis testified that Bresson is a man of above average intelligence and. energy whose relationships with adult females had been negative. As a result, he had developed unacceptable child sexual impulses. Dr. Davis stated Bresson was consciously aware of his unacceptable child sexual impulses which may have begun approximately six to seven years ago. Bresson claims he had not acted on these impulses until this offense. Dr. Davis described Bresson as different from the normal child molester in that he had been struggling to control his unacceptable sexual impulses and suffered from a great deal of remorse. Dr. Davis concluded that Bresson is a good candidate for therapy and that he would likely respond if placed in the Davis Psychiatric Clinic Sex Offender Program. Such treatment would not otherwise be available through the Indiana Department of Corrections. Dr. Davis testified that if Bresson enrolled in the program, he could reside at the Riverside Residential Center which would place him in voluntary confinement where he would also receive treatment for his problem.

The probation officer, who prepared the presentence report, testified that a "Pre-Sentence Investigation Screening Instrument" indicated the sentence should be probation with special conditions. However, the probation officer recommended a maximum executed sentence because of the age of the victim, the recommendations of the victim's parents and the investigating detective. She concluded by stating that imposition of a reduced sentence or suspension of sentence would depreciate the seriousness of the crime.

Both of the victim's parents' testified at the sentencing hearing and requested imposition of the maximum sentence because of the damage it has caused to their daughter and to themselves. Patrick and Shirley Ross testified that Amanda has turned into a shy, untrusting little girl,. She will not allow her parents to bathe her and is having difficulty with toilet training. She shys away from all men and is terrified of having her picture taken. Both parents described the pain they have experienced. Mrs. Ross stated that she agreed with Dr. Davis that if she and her husband maintain normal upbringing of Amanda, she will not remember this experience. Both parents expressed their fears for their daughter's future and their own ability to trust other adults.

The trial court entered the following sentence:

"PRE SENTENCE REPORT filed as follow: which reads as the following: The State of Indiana appears by Annette [94]*94Biesecker Dep. Pros, Deft. Frederick D.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Golden Rule Insurance Co. v. Schwartz
751 N.E.2d 123 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2001)
Linger v. State
508 N.E.2d 56 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1987)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
498 N.E.2d 91, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bresson-v-state-indctapp-1986.