Castaneira v. State

740 S.E.2d 400, 321 Ga. App. 418, 2013 Fulton County D. Rep. 1183, 2013 WL 1197941, 2013 Ga. App. LEXIS 280
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedMarch 26, 2013
DocketA12A2149
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 740 S.E.2d 400 (Castaneira v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Castaneira v. State, 740 S.E.2d 400, 321 Ga. App. 418, 2013 Fulton County D. Rep. 1183, 2013 WL 1197941, 2013 Ga. App. LEXIS 280 (Ga. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

Branch, Judge.

Ryan Allen Castaneira was tried by a Fayette County jury and convicted of criminal attempt to commit child molestation,1 criminal attempt to entice a child for indecent purposes,2 computer pornography and child exploitation,3 obscene Internet contact with a child,4 and misdemeanor possession of marijuana.5 He now appeals from the denial of his motion for a new trial, asserting that the trial court erred when it failed to instruct the jury on his sole defense of mistake in fact. Castaneira further contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions for criminal attempt to commit child molestation and criminal attempt to entice a child for indecent purposes, and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. Castaneira also claims that the trial court erred in admitting certain evidence in violation of the best evidence rule, in failing to apply the applicable sentencing statute, and in failing to merge his convictions for criminal attempt to commit child molestation and criminal attempt to entice a child for indecent purposes. We find no error in the denial of Castaneira’s motion for a new trial, and we therefore affirm that order. Finally, we find that the trial court did not err when it failed to merge Castaneira’s convictions for criminal attempt to commit child molestation and criminal attempt to entice a child for indecent purposes.

On appeal from a criminal conviction, the defendant is no longer entitled to a presumption of innocence and we therefore construe the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury’s guilty verdict. Martinez v. State, 306 Ga. App. 512, 514 (702 SE2d 747) (2010). So viewed, the record shows that Detective Heather Jones is an officer with the Peachtree City Police Department whose job is to investigate Internet crimes against children. In September 2006, Detective Jones created an account on the Adult Friend Finder (“AFF”) website.6 Detective Jones’s fictitious profile listed her name as April Thompson, her age as 31, and her marital status as single. The profile also described “April” as “a sweet Georgia girl” looking for men “for a discreet relationship.”

[419]*419On September 15, 2006, Detective Jones logged onto the AFF website as April and entered one of the site’s chat rooms. She was then contacted via instant message by another website user, later identified as Castaneira, using the name “doinitsidewayzz.” During their conversation, Castaneira asked April’s age, and she replied that she was only 15 and asked, “Is that okay?” Castaneira responded, “Oh, my, not sure that would be legal.” He nevertheless continued to chat with April, telling her that he “was looking for something a bit casual, nothing serious, but still having fun physically.” Castaneira also asked April for her picture, and in return she asked for one of him. When they were unable to exchange pictures because of technical problems, they agreed to log off the website and use a different instant messaging service. April and Castaneira continued their chat a few minutes later, using the different service, at which time Detective Jones, who was then 29 years old, sent Castaneira a current picture of herself, claiming it was a picture of the 15-year-old April. Jones also received two pictures that Castaneira sent to April; one of those pictures was a head shot of Castaneira, and the other was a photograph of his exposed genitalia.

During the conversation that followed the exchange of photographs, Castaneira asked about April’s living situation and if she had “strict parents.” She responded that she had just recently moved to Georgia from North Carolina, that she lived with her aunt, and that she was home schooled together with her cousins. When Castaneira asked if April’s aunt would let him take her out, she replied “we don’t have to tell her”; Castaneira then stated “I like the way you think.” The two then discussed meeting in person, with Castaneira asking if April would be available to “hang out” for “at least an hour or two.” Castaneira also suggested the possibility that the two could go to a hotel. April and Castaneira then discussed the fact that April was a sexually inexperienced virgin, with Castaneira suggesting that he could perform oral sex on her.

Two days later Castaneira had a second online conversation with April, and on September 18 they had a third. April had to pause the third conversation at least twice, first telling Castaneira that her aunt was calling her and then reporting that her aunt kept coming into the room. During that conversation, Castaneira mentioned the possibility of meeting April later that week. After some discussion, they agreed to meet on the night of Wednesday, September 20, with April telling Castaneira that she would need to be home by “9:30 or so.” Castaneira then stated, “well, depending on how much time we have, we may not be able to use the hotel room to its full potential... but we could still have a lot of fun there.” He later told April that “since we won’t have all that much time, maybe we can just start [420]*420slowly and plan for a different day to get a hotel room.” Castaneira then stated that they “could just park somewhere and fool around a little.” In response, April suggested meeting at a Kroger store near her, noting that there was a nearby park that few people frequented. Castaneira replied, “as long as it [our presence] isn’t suspicious [so] that a cop going by would stop.” The two then agreed to meet between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday at a specific Kroger in Peachtree City.

Castaneira chatted with April again on September 19, the day before their planned meeting, and told her he had driven to Peachtree City that day to locate the Kroger. He also asked her how she would get to Kroger, and she told him that a friend’s brother would drop her off. Castaneira instructed April to wait for him outside the grocery store and told her he would be driving a black car.

On September 20, Castaneira had another online conversation with April and asked her where he would be dropping her off after they were through “hanging out”; April replied that he could just drop her off at the Kroger. When April indicated that she was nervous about her first sexual encounter, Castaneira told her, “[w]e may not go all the way tonight, but I promise to make you feel good.” He then discussed the possibility of performing oral sex and digitally penetrating her, telling April, “I think you would really like [those things].”

That evening, Detective Jones, accompanied by other undercover officers, went to the designated meeting place and stood in front of the Kroger store. She was dressed as a young girl, wearing shorts, a t-shirt, and a baseball cap, and carrying a backpack. Shortly after 8:00 p.m., a black car drove past Detective Jones and from the picture he had sent, she recognized the driver as Castaneira. Castaneira parked and he and Detective Jones walked toward each other. Detective Jones asked Castaneira if he was Ryan; when he responded affirmatively and then said, “April,” she arrested him. The police obtained a search warrant for Castaneira’s car, from which they recovered a bottle of lubricant, a condom, a laptop computer, and a small amount of marijuana.

Castaneira’s defense was that he lacked the requisite intent to commit the crimes at issue, because he did not believe he was in contact with or going to meet a 15-year-old girl.

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Bluebook (online)
740 S.E.2d 400, 321 Ga. App. 418, 2013 Fulton County D. Rep. 1183, 2013 WL 1197941, 2013 Ga. App. LEXIS 280, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/castaneira-v-state-gactapp-2013.