J-S36040-21
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : ROBERT DEAN CAESAR : : Appellant : No. 649 EDA 2021
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered March 5, 2021 In the Court of Common Pleas of Chester County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-15-CR-0001831-2018
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : ROBERT DEAN CAESAR : : Appellant : No. 650 EDA 2021
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered March 5, 2021 In the Court of Common Pleas of Chester County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-15-CR-0001851-2018
BEFORE: LAZARUS, J., KING, J., and COLINS, J.*
MEMORANDUM BY COLINS, J.: FILED OCTOBER 06, 2022
Appellant, Robert Dean Caesar, appeals from the judgment of sentence
imposed following his conviction of multiple counts of statutory sexual assault,
involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, corruption of minors, endangering the
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* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court. J-S36040-21
welfare of children, indecent assault, and unlawful contact with a minor, and
a single count of sexual abuse of children.1 We affirm.
Appellant was arrested in 2018 and charged with numerous sexual
crimes arising out of inappropriate sexual contact with three minor boys: two
Amish brothers, M.K. and S.K., and an unrelated boy, M.R. Although Appellant
was convicted of charges related to each of the three minor victims, in this
appeal, Appellant only challenges evidentiary rulings with respect to the
Commonwealth’s proof concerning his offenses against the two brothers, M.K.
and S.K.
The evidence at trial showed that Appellant’s abuse of the brothers
began when M.K., the older of the two, was approximately 14 and he began
going to Appellant’s house on a monthly basis to perform yard work. After
M.K. would finish the yard work, Appellant would invite M.K. into his home
and ask the boy to disrobe and place the boy’s clothes into the washing
machine. The two then went into Appellant’s bedroom to watch movies on
Appellant’s television. On various of the visits, Appellant touched M.K.’s penis
and placed M.K.’s hand on his own penis while the two lay on the bed watching
movies. On one occasion, Appellant also made oral contact with M.K.’s penis.
Appellant sometimes provided M.K. with alcohol and showed him pornography
on the computer during the visits. In addition, on certain occasions after M.K.
1 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 3122.1(b), 3123(a)(7), 3126(a)(7)-(8), 4304(a)(1), 6301(a)(1)(i)-(ii), 6312(b), 6318(a)(1).
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had disrobed, Appellant would provide him with underwear to wear so that he
was not entirely naked. M.K. continued visiting Appellant until he was 15
years old when his parents discovered that Appellant had supplied him with
moonshine.
S.K. described a similar pattern of abuse in his testimony, involving
Appellant asking S.K. to perform yardwork on a weekly basis and inviting the
boy inside afterward to watch movies and drink alcohol, while Appellant
performed sex acts on S.K. S.K.’s visits to Appellant’s house began when he
was approximately 12 years old and on the first few occasions, he went with
M.K. although no abuse occurred during those visits. After M.K. was forbidden
from seeing Appellant, S.K. continued to work at Appellant’s house in secret
from his parents and he stayed in contact with Appellant through a cellular
phone that Appellant provided. Like M.K., S.K. also testified that Appellant
provided him with underwear to wear while his clothes were being washed.
Appellant also asked S.K. if he could keep some of S.K.’s underwear. S.K.’s
visits to Appellant’s house ended when the boy was 14 when M.K. reported
the abuse to a member of their community.
On August 28, 2020, at the conclusion of a five-day jury trial, Appellant
was found guilty of three counts of statutory sexual assault, three counts of
involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, three counts of corruption of minors,
three counts of endangering the welfare of children, seven counts of indecent
assault, three counts of unlawful contact with a minor, and one count of sexual
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abuse of children. On March 5, 2021, the trial court sentenced Appellant to
an aggregate sentence of 22 years to 74 years’ incarceration.
Appellant filed timely notices of appeal on March 29, 2021.2 Before this
Court, Appellant raises the following issues:
1) Did the trial court err in limiting counsel’s cross-examination of the alleged victims regarding their experience and exposure to investigations of child sexual assault, particularly their experience in connection with allegations against their father which resulted in charges and a conviction of father’s abuse of the alleged victims’ sister?
2) Did the trial court err in allowing testimony regarding [Appellant’s] eBay purchases and eBay communications [] as the eBay material was not related to the charged offenses and were calculated to prejudice the jury?
3) Did the combination of the above errors deprive [Appellant] of a fair trial requiring the grant of a new trial?
Appellant’s Brief at 3 (suggested answers omitted).
Appellant’s issues concern the trial court’s evidentiary rulings, and our
review of these issues is guided by the following:
The admissibility of evidence is a matter within the sound discretion of the trial court and will be reversed only where there is a clear abuse of discretion. Our standard of review of a challenge to an evidentiary ruling is therefore limited. Abuse of discretion is not merely an error of judgment, but rather where the judgment is manifestly unreasonable or where the law is not
2 Appellant filed a separate notice of appeal at each trial court docket, as required by Pa.R.A.P. 341. On May 13, 2021, this Court consolidated the appeals sua sponte pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 513. Appellant filed concise statements of errors complained of on appeal on April 19, 2021. The trial court filed its opinion on May 18, 2021.
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applied or where the record shows that the action is a result of partiality, prejudice, bias or ill will.
Commonwealth v. Williams, 241 A.3d 1094, 1101 (Pa. Super. 2020)
(citation omitted); see also Commonwealth v. Harrington, 262 A.3d 639,
646 (Pa. Super. 2021) (this Court applies an abuse of discretion standard
when reviewing the trial court’s denial of a motion in limine).
“Evidence is admissible if it is relevant—that is, if it tends to establish a
material fact, makes a fact at issue more or less probable, or supports a
reasonable inference supporting a material fact—and its probative value
outweighs the likelihood of unfair prejudice.” Commonwealth v. Clemons,
200 A.3d 441, 474 (Pa. 2019) (citation omitted); see also Pa.R.E. 401
(“Evidence is relevant if: (a) it has any tendency to make a fact more or less
probable than it would be without the evidence; and (b) the fact is of
consequence in determining the action.”); Pa.R.E. 402 (“Evidence that is not
relevant is not admissible.”). “Evidence will not be prohibited merely because
it is harmful to the defendant. [E]xclusion is limited to evidence so prejudicial
that it would inflame the jury to make a decision based on something other
than the legal propositions relevant to the case.” Commonwealth v. Gad,
190 A.3d 600, 605 (Pa. Super. 2018) (citation omitted). Further, “[a] trial
court is not required to sanitize the trial to eliminate all unpleasant facts from
the jury’s consideration.” Commonwealth v. Danzey, 210 A.3d 333, 342
(Pa. Super. 2019) (citation omitted).
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In his first issue, Appellant argues that the trial court erred and abused
its discretion by limiting his ability to cross-examine victims M.K. and S.K.
regarding the criminal prosecution of their father (“Father”) for sexual assault
perpetrated on the boys’ sisters. Appellant asserts that the trial court’s
decision hindered “the defense’s ability to properly present its theory of the
case to the jury,” and that M.K. and S.K. “had not only the motivation (i.e.,
the defiance of an authority figure) but familiarity with the details of sexual
assault investigations would allow the two to manipulate law enforcement
officials to target” Appellant. Appellant’s Brief at 15. Appellant contends that,
by not permitting cross-examination on the topic of Father’s sexual assault
investigation and conviction, the trial court violated his due process right and
his right to confront the witnesses against him and also infringed on the jury’s
exclusive authority to weight the victims’ credibility.
Our review of the record in this matter reveals that the trial court did
not entirely foreclose any mention of Father’s sexual assault case at trial.
Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Alicyn March Stuart, who conducted a
forensic interview of the third victim in this case, M.R., testified on direct that
she was assigned to investigate Father’s sexual abuse of his daughters in
2017, that the original report of abuse emanated from M.K., and that Father
had removed himself from the family home by the time that Appellant’s abuse
of M.K. and S.K. came to light. N.T., 8/26/20, at 235-36. Defense counsel
cross-examined Trooper Stuart concerning her investigation, eliciting
testimony that M.K. was not interviewed by law enforcement in connection
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with his Father’s case. Id. at 239-41. The trial court, however, sustained the
Commonwealth’s relevance objections when the questioning delved into the
facts of Father’s case, such as which of M.K. and S.K.’s siblings were
interviewed and the details of the guilty plea. Id. Appellant was also allowed
to cross-examine Corporal Stefano Gallina, the lead investigator in the instant
case, regarding his familiarity with the investigation of Father and whether
Corporal Gallina asked M.K. or S.K. any questions about their Father. N.T.,
8/27/20, at 47-50.
During Appellant’s cross-examination of M.K., the following exchange
occurred:
Q Okay. [M.K.], you said that you were in foster care. When did that happen?
...
A About a year and a half ago. It would be this coming Christmas two years ago.
Q Okay. And that was when you were first separated from your family, or had you been separated before that?
A I had been separated before that.
Q Okay. And it was actually back in 2018 that that happened?
A Yes.
Q Okay. And was that relating to some charges against your father?
Q Okay. And you and your siblings were removed from the home?
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Q Were the charges against your father of a sexual nature?
Q Okay. Were the victims of that case siblings of yours?
A That is correct.
Q Okay. And you know that your father pled guilty to those offenses?
A I believe he did.
Q Okay. And is your mother still living with your father?
[COMMONWEALTH]: Objection to relevance.
THE COURT: Sustained.
Q When you had spoken to Trooper Gallina in January of 2018, it had only been about two weeks after that that your father was arrested; is that correct?
THE COURT: The objection is sustained.
N.T., 8/26/20, at 67-68. Appellant did not ask S.K. any questions concerning
Father on cross-examination.
In its Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a) opinion, the trial court explained its reasons for
limiting Appellant’s cross-examination of the victims concerning Father’s
sexual assault case as follows:
The fact that [Father] was arrested and pled guilty to sexually assaulting his own daughters is irrelevant to whether [Appellant] sexually assaulted M.K. and S.K. Testimony about [Father’s] criminal conviction would not make the allegations against [Appellant] more or less probable than they would be without the evidence. The facts regarding the circumstances of [Father’s] guilty plea and sentence are of no consequence in determining
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whether [Appellant] committed the crimes charged. Neither M.K. nor S.K. were questioned by law enforcement when [F]ather was being investigated. Corporal Gallina, the affiant in this matter, was not involved with [Father’s] case and knew that neither M.K. nor S.K. were interviewed with regard to [F]ather’s criminal charges; therefore, he did not question them about [F]ather.
[Appellant] argued during trial that M.K. alleged [Appellant] sexually assaulted him because his parents caught him drinking alcohol and M.K. did not want to be punished by his parents. [Appellant] was offered ample opportunity to conduct effective cross-examination of the Commonwealth’s witnesses regarding this defense. The Court permitted [Appellant] to cross-examine M.K. regarding his consumption of alcohol and whether he was punished by his parents for consuming alcohol. [See N.T., 8/26/20, at 48-51, 59-61.] Any evidence regarding [Father’s] plea and sentence for sexual assault is irrelevant to whether [Appellant] committed the instant crimes and is therefore inadmissible.
Trial Court Opinion, 5/18/21, at 4-5 (record citations omitted).
We discern no abuse of discretion in the trial court’s determination that
Father’s criminal prosecution was not relevant to the Commonwealth’s case
against Appellant. Appellant was not prevented from asking M.K. general
questions concerning the allegations against his Father, but it was only when
those questions turned to the details of Father’s case that the Commonwealth
objected and the trial court sustained the objections. As the trial court aptly
explained, evidence related to Father’s admission that he abused his
daughters does not tend to make it more or less probable that Appellant
abused M.K. and S.K.
Moreover, the trial court’s rulings did not infringe on Appellant’s right to
cross-examine his accusers. While Appellant contends that the trial court’s
rulings prevented him from pursuing his defense theory that M.K. and S.K.
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concocted false allegations about Appellant based upon their awareness of the
mechanisms of sexual assault allegations, Appellant did not even attempt to
ask the victims whether they had reported Father’s abuse to authorities or
were interviewed in Father’s case. Nor was Appellant prevented from asking
the brothers questions regarding whether their allegations about Appellant
were in fact based upon negative feelings towards Father. Accordingly,
Appellant is entitled to no relief on his first issue.
In his second issue, Appellant challenges the trial court’s denial of his
January 28, 2020 motion in limine to exclude evidence related to his
solicitation and purchases on the eBay e-commerce website of new and used
boy’s bathing suits and briefs as well as the recovery of in excess of 200 pairs
of children’s sized underwear and swimming suits from Appellant’s home.
Appellant’s motion argued that the evidence related to the purchases was
irrelevant to the present charges, was improper character evidence designed
to show his propensity for committing sexual assault, and that it was unduly
prejudicial to him.
The trial court denied the motion in a July 17, 2020 order. The court
noted that both M.K. and S.K. had reported to Corporal Gallina that Appellant
had asked them if he could keep their worn underwear and that the
Commonwealth anticipated that Appellant would argue that the brothers
fabricated their accounts that the events took place. Order, 7/17/20, at 1-2
n.1. Therefore, the court determined that the evidence was
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relevant to the veracity of the testimony of the victims. The evidence [Appellant] seeks to preclude independently corroborates the victims’ testimony regarding [Appellant’s] asking for and keeping the victims’ underwear. The eBay activity further rebuts arguments offered by [Appellant] that the victims lied or fabricated facts surrounding [Appellant’s] conduct.
Id. at 2 n.1.
During his testimony, Corporal Gallina discussed his review of
Appellant’s eBay purchase history, as provided by the company, which reflects
his purchase during the relevant time period of numerous pairs of boys’
swimming suits and briefs, as well as messages Appellant sent to eBay sellers
requesting photographs of boys wearing the purchased swimwear or
underwear, asking that they be sent unwashed, and commenting on how the
garments would fit on Appellant’s son and son’s friends. N.T., 8/27/20, at 5-
17; Commonwealth Exhibits 68, 69. Corporal Gallina confirmed during an
interview with Appellant that he did not have a son and did not have children
living with him at the time of the purchases. N.T., 8/27/20, at 17-18.
Corporal Gallina also testified that, during a search of Appellant’s house
following his arrest, over 200 pairs of boy’s underwear and swimming suits
were recovered and that some of these items were consistent with those
purchased on eBay. Id. at 18-21; see also N.T., 8/25/20, at 69, 91-95.
Appellant argues on appeal that the trial court abused its discretion in
allowing the evidence related to his eBay purchases and collection of youth
garments as it was not relevant to the elements of his charges related to the
assault of minors. Appellant contends that the relevance of this evidence was
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particularly minimal in light of the Commonwealth’s forensic analysis of
various of the underwear and swimming suits, which showed the presence of
the DNA of Appellant and other males, but not that of M.K. or S.K. See N.T.,
8/25/20, at 123-25.
Appellant further argues that, even if there was some relevance to the
eBay purchases and the clothing found in his home, the trial court neglected
to balance the evidence’s probative value against its unfair prejudice.
Appellant asserts that the evidence improperly injected his sexual fetishes into
the trial and allowed him “to be tarred by his unusual interests in such
garments.” Appellant’s Brief at 27. Additionally, citing Pennsylvania Rule of
Evidence 404(b), Appellant contends that his “‘racy’ eBay communications”
and underwear purchases constituted prior bad act evidence that was
improperly admitted to show his propensity for committing sexual abuse of
children. See Pa.R.E. 404(b)(1)-(2) (providing that evidence of a crime,
wrong, or other act is not admissible to show that a person acted in accordance
with his character on a particular occasion, but may be admitted for other
purposes, such as to prove motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan,
knowledge, identity, absence of mistake, or lack of accident).
We conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding
Appellant’s eBay purchases and communications and the discovery of
hundreds of youth garments in his home to be relevant in Appellant’s trial.
Specifically, this evidence was relevant to the indecent assault charges against
Appellant, which required proof that he engaged in indecent contact with M.K.
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and S.K. “for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire in any
person.” 18 Pa.C.S. § 3101; see also 18 Pa.C.S. § 3126(a). Appellant’s eBay
purchases and collection of boy’s underwear and swimwear, as well as the
messages associated with his purchases, tended to show that his contact with
the victims was for the purpose of his sexual arousal and gratification.
In addition, the eBay evidence was relevant to the sexual abuse of
children charge. See 18 Pa.C.S. § 6312(b). Under the statutory definition of
this offense, the Commonwealth may show, inter alia, that the defendant
photographed a child engaged in a “lewd exhibition of the genitals or nudity if
such nudity is depicted for the purpose of sexual stimulation or gratification
of any person.” 18 Pa.C.S. § 6312(g). Appellant’s collection of boy’s
underwear and swimwear were probative of whether the collection of
photographs that he took and stored on his cell phone of S.K.—some of which
depicted S.K. in the nude and some of which showed him in underwear—were
connected to Appellant’s or another person’s sexual stimulation or
gratification. See N.T., 8/26/20, at 113-19 (S.K.’s description of photographs
Appellant took of him); N.T., 8/27/20, at 22-24 (Corporal Gallina testifying
regarding discovery of photographs on Appellant’s phone).
Therefore, to the extent Appellant’s eBay purchases and collection of
youth garments constituted an “other . . . wrong[] or act” under Rule 404(b),3
3 We note that there is no allegation that Appellant’s acts of purchasing and collecting boys’ undergarments, whether used or worn, was by itself a criminal act.
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this evidence was permissibly introduced to prove Appellant’s intent in
touching and photographing his victims was for sexual arousal or gratification.
See Pa.R.E. 404(b)(2) (listing intent as one of the permitted uses for prior
bad act evidence); Commonwealth v. Akhmedov, 216 A.3d 307, 316 (Pa.
Super. 2019) (en banc). Moreover, as the trial court explained, the eBay
evidence corroborates the account of S.K. and M.K. that Appellant provided
them with undergarments while their clothes were being washed and that
Appellant asked to keep S.K.’s underwear. See Order, 7/17/20, at 1-2 n.1;
N.T., 8/26/20, at 36-37, 87-89, 101-102. In addition, the evidence
concerning Appellant’s possession of numerous pairs of children’s garments
served to rebut the cross-examination of the brothers, which called into
question whether they had invented their accounts of their interactions with
Appellant.
Furthermore, we disagree with Appellant that the evidence of his eBay
purchases and the recovery of numerous pairs of undergarments was more
prejudicial than probative. As explained above, the evidence was necessary
to prove Appellant’s sexual gratification for the indecent assault and sexual
abuse of children charges and also to support M.K. and S.K.’s testimony
regarding their visits to Appellant’s house. While the evidence cast Appellant
in a negative light, this is not a basis for its exclusion. See Danzey, 210 A.3d
at 342; Gad, 190 A.3d at 605. Moreover, the record reflects that the
Commonwealth did not inordinately focus on Appellant’s “unusual proclivities”
as evidenced by his messages to eBay sellers, Appellant’s Brief at 25, but
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rather Corporal Gallina only briefly summarized the general content of the
messages for the jury. N.T., 8/27/20, at 17.4
Accordingly, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion
in finding that the evidence of Appellant’s eBay purchases and his collection
of boys’ undergarments was relevant and not unfairly prejudicial.
In his final issue, Appellant contends that the cumulative effect of the
trial court’s erroneous evidentiary rulings deprived him of a fair trial.
Appellant explains that “even if this [C]ourt believes that the individual issues
stated above escape relief because . . . each error was harmless[,] . . . [t]he
amassed effect of these various trial miscues” irrevocably impacted the jury’s
consideration of whether Appellant was guilty of the charged crimes.
Appellant’s Brief at 32.5
In light of the fact that Appellant has not shown that the trial court
abused its discretion with respect to the court’s evidentiary rulings addressed
4 Generally, where prior bad act evidence is admitted under Rule 404(b), a defendant is entitled to a jury instruction that the evidence is admissible for a limited purpose. See Commonwealth v. Ivy, 146 A.3d 241, 251 (Pa. Super. 2016). However, Appellant cites to no instance in the trial transcript where he sought, or where the trial court denied, a cautionary instruction regarding the eBay evidence. 5 We note that each of the cases cited by Appellant in support of this argument relates to a claim of cumulative prejudice resulting from individual ineffective assistance of counsel claims brought in a Post Conviction Relief Act petition. See Commonwealth v. Hutchinson, 25 A.3d 277 (Pa. 2011); Commonwealth v. Johnson, 966 A.2d 523 (Pa. 2009); Commonwealth v. Perry, 644 A.2d 705 (Pa. 1994). However, we need not address Appellant’s lack of citation to relevant legal authority as this claim is patently meritless.
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in Appellant’s first two appellate issues, we need not reach his last claim that
the aggregate harm arising from the trial court’s determinations require that
this Court vacate his convictions. Accordingly, we find no merit in Appellant’s
final appellate claim.
Judgment of sentence affirmed.
Judge Lazarus joins the memorandum.
Judge King did not participate in the consideration or decision of this
case.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq. Prothonotary
Date: 10/6/2022
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