Cochran v. State

283 S.W.2d 947, 162 Tex. Crim. 253, 1955 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1617
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 15, 1955
Docket27527
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 283 S.W.2d 947 (Cochran v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cochran v. State, 283 S.W.2d 947, 162 Tex. Crim. 253, 1955 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1617 (Tex. 1955).

Opinions

DICE, Judge.

The conviction is for assault with intent to rape; the punishment, confinement in the penitentiary for a term of fifty years.

The prosecutrix was a young girl six years of age at the time of the alleged offense and seven years old at the time of the trial.

[254]*254The appellant, who was married and forty years of age, was the uncle of the prosecutrix, having married her father’s sister.

It is shown that the alleged offense was committed on an occasion when appellant and his wife made a visit to the home of the prosecutrix’ parents in the city of Odessa.

The seven-year-old prosecutrix testified that appellant, her uncle by marriage, on occasions visited at her home and “bothered her” several times.

Referring to the visit here in question about which she had talked to the district attorney, the prosecutrix testified that she went into a storeroom with appellant, though she did not want to go. When she asked why they were going there appellant said, “I will show you”; that it was in the daytime; that when they got in the storeroom appellant pulled down his pants, held her hands and took her clothes off and pulled her down on top of him on an old mattress; that she did not want to get on top of him; that she saw his private parts and he played with hers.

She testified then “he stuck it in mine” while he was down and had her on top of him; that it hurt, and she cried to herself, but he would not let her cry because he was afraid her grandmother, whose apartment adjoined the storeroom, would hear her; that he said he would whip her “with a thorny stick off of the rose bush;” that he actually put his private parts against hers and it “hurt bad.”

She further testified that appellant got on top, of her, “put his arms around my neck and held my hips up” and made her hold onto his shoulders and while on top of her, “Well, he stuck his in mine too, again” and it hurt; that she wanted to cry, but again he would not let her; that he finally let her up and told her that if she told on him “He said he would stick a cigarette in my eye,” and she was afraid of him.

On cross-examination the record shows the following questions and answers of the prosecutrix:

“Q. You say when he got you down that he put his private parts against yours ? A. Yes.

“Q. I believe you said ‘He stuck it in mine,’ is that right? A. Yes.

• “Q. Now, that afternoon after this happened and after your father came and told Jesse he had to go to the bank — A. Yes.

[255]*255“Q. And that he would be back, did Jesse and Ruby leave then, or did they stay around a little while? A. Mary and Aunt Ruby and Jesse, and me and my cousin went uptown, and he did it up there too.” . . .

“Q. Did you get some ice cream ? A. No. He promised me a watch and ice cream, and I haven’t got- it yet.”

Also on cross-examination the prosecutrix testified that she and appellant stayed in the storeroom “about four hours.”

On re-direct examination the child stated that it was after they left the storeroom and while they were in the car that appellant “said he would buy me a watch and ice cream if I would do that.”

The prosecutrix’ father testified that on the day of appellant’s visit to- his home, after they had dinner, he went out the back and saw his daughter (the prosecutrix) and appellant in the wash house; that as he walked up he looked through a window and saw appellant with his pants down, and when appellant observed him he “jumped behind the door and pulled his pants up and said he was putting his shirt tail in.”

The prosecutrix’ mother testified that on the day of appellant’s visit to her home he, on two occasions, went outside with the prosecutrix, the first time in the morning when appellant asked the little girl to go outside so he would swing her, and again after eating lunch, the prosecutrix went outside and appellant followed her. She further testified that after appellant and his wife left around 4:30 o’clock that afternoon, she questioned her daughter about being molested; that after her daughter told her about being molested, she examined her private parts and found that they were bruised, and that night she called a doctor and later took her daughter to him for examination.

The evidence further shows that the prosecutrix was examined by the doctor some five days after the day of the alleged assault and that the examination of her private parts revealed some bloody discharge and evidence of a mild injury or trauma.

Appellant, as a witness in his own behalf, denied that he at any time molested or assaulted the prosecutrix and denied that he went outside of the house with the child during the morning after he and his wife arrived. Appellant explained his presence [256]*256in the storeroom by testifying that he went in to get a rag to wipe some rust off his hands and that he and the prosecutrix were alone in the storeroom together for not over a minute that afternoon, which was when she came in the wash house ahead of her father.

Appellant further testified that some men were working in an alley near the storeroom and that the prosecutrix’ grandmother was in her apartment when he went into the storeroom and that the apartment was separated from the storeroom by a wall through which a conversation could be heard.

Appellant’s wife testified that on the day of the visit, her husband and the prosecutrix were not out of her presence from the time of their arrival in the morning until the noon meal; that she observed nothing unusual during the day and that she did not see or hear anything during the day with reference to appellant and the prosecutrix that aroused her suspicion.

We agree with the appellant’s contention that although it is not necessary, in prosecutions for assault with intent to rape a female under the age of consent, to allege in the indictment that the offense was committed without the consent of the female and by the use of force, threats and fraud, when such allegations are made, the state is required to make proof thereof in order to sustain a conviction. Adams v. State, 122 Texas Cr. R. 181, 54 S.W. 2d 123; West v. State, 152 Texas Cr. R. 9, 211 S.W. 2d 200.

We shall, therefore, examine the testimony of the prosecutrix to determine whether it is sufficient to show the offense to have been committed without her consent and by the use of force, threats and fraud.

On the question of consent, the prosecutrix testified that she did not want to go into the storeroom, that she did not want to get on top of appellant and did not want to do “all of that.” We think this testimony, in view of her tender years, is sufficient to show her lack of consent.

On the question of force used by appellant, the testimony of the prosecutrix shows that after appellant lured her into the storeroom, he held her hands, took her panties off, and pulled her down on top of him, all of which was against her will, wouldn’t let her cry, and threatened to whip her if she did, and after appellant got on top of her, he put his arms around her neck, held her hips and made her hold on to his shoulders. We [257]*257are of the opinion that this description of the assault upon a six-year-old child shows the use of force in the commission of the assault.

In West v.

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Related

Williams v. State
628 S.W.2d 848 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1982)
Franco v. State
492 S.W.2d 534 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1973)
Shields v. State
402 S.W.2d 761 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1966)
Lee v. State
334 S.W.2d 289 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1960)
Lowe v. State
310 S.W.2d 94 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1957)
Cochran v. State
283 S.W.2d 947 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1955)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
283 S.W.2d 947, 162 Tex. Crim. 253, 1955 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1617, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cochran-v-state-texcrimapp-1955.