Commonwealth v. Brooks

7 A.3d 852, 2010 Pa. Super. 185, 2010 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3252, 2010 WL 3916135
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedOctober 7, 2010
Docket1860 EDA 2009
StatusPublished
Cited by201 cases

This text of 7 A.3d 852 (Commonwealth v. Brooks) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Brooks, 7 A.3d 852, 2010 Pa. Super. 185, 2010 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3252, 2010 WL 3916135 (Pa. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinions

OPINION BY

ALLEN, J.:

Marc Brooks (“Appellant”) appeals from the judgment of sentence imposed after a jury convicted him of two counts of endangering the welfare of two minor victims, as well as multiple sexual offenses involving one of the minor victims. We affirm.

The trial court ably summarized the pertinent facts and procedural history as follows:

[Appellant] is the biological father of C.B. and was the longtime boyfriend of G.W.’s now deceased mother, Sherry Walls. Until 2001, the four of them— C.B., G.W., Sherry Walls, and [Appellant] — lived together. The children testified that while they lived with [Appellant], they watched him physically abuse their mother. They also testified that during the warm months of that year, when their mother was absent from the apartment, [Appellant] would sexually abuse them. C.B. testified that [Appellant] forced him to perform oral sex on him and that [Appellant] sodomized him. C.B. testified that [Appellant] forced him to perform oral sex “a lot ... [like] once a day,” and that anal sex occurred just as frequently.
Like her half-brother, G.W. testified that [Appellant] forced her to perform oral sex on him. She testified that these incidents occurred more then ten times. Both children testified that [Appellant] threatened to beat or kill them or their mother if they refused to perform the sex acts on him or if they told anyone what they were doing.
Later in 2001, C.B. and G.W. ceased living with [Appellant] and their biological mother. C.B. entered into foster care through Children and Youth Services (CYS) and G.W. went to live with Joyce Broomall. However, [Appellant’s] visitation rights in regard to C.B. were not suspended until December 2004 and Lydia Debíase, a CYS case worker [sic], was able to observe three or four of these visits. She testified that during these visits C.B. would sit close to [Appellant] and “try to be very attentive to his father to make sure that [Appellant] stayed calm.”
However, it wasn’t until 2006 that either child disclosed the alleged sex acts [Appellant] committed on them. In July of that year, C.B. told Elizabeth McKer-nan, his trauma counselor, that he had been sexually abused. Over the course of their meetings, C.B. informed Ms. McKernan that his father had beaten him, sodomized him and forced him to perform oral sex. Ms. McKernan also testified that while he made these disclosures C.B. “would be making no eye contact, looking down, fidgety” and that “one time he ... curled up into the fetal position after making a disclosure.” Ms. McKernan reported these allegations of sexual abuse.
During the summer of 2006, Ms. Debí-ase informed Joyce Brooomall, G.W.’s adoptive mother, that C.B. was making allegations; however, Ms. Broomall testified that Ms. Debíase did not reveal any specifics about the allegations. About a month after Ms. Debíase contacted her, Ms. Broomall initiated a conversation with G.W. about the changes G.W.’s body was about to undergo. G.W. then started crying hysterically and told Ms. Broomall that [Appellant] forced her to perform oral sex on him. [856]*856Upon hearing this disclosure, Ms. Broo-mall contacted Ms. Debíase, who she believes then contacted Maria Phillapel-la, an agent of [CYS’s] Sexual Abuse Unit. Ms. Phillapella, in turn, informed Officer Kuryan of the Chester Police Department that she had received information about sexual abuse allegations made by C.B. and G.W. While investigating the allegations, Officer Kuryan interviewed both G.W. and C.B. and obtained recorded statements from each of them relaying the allegations of sexual abuse set forth above (except for C.B.’s allegation of sodomy).
At trial, C.B. and G.W. testified via video about the alleged abuse [Appellant] subjected them to. Ms. McKer-nan, Ms. Broomall, and Officer Kuryan testified in open court about the disclosures C.B. and G.W. had made to them regarding the alleged abuse.

Trial Court Opinion, 12/29/09, at 2-4 (citations omitted).

Although the jury acquitted Appellant of all sexual offenses claimed by C.B., it convicted him of the multiple sexual offenses he committed against G.W. and convicted him of endangering the welfare of each child. The trial court subsequently sentenced him to an aggregate term of twenty-two and one-half to forty-five years of imprisonment. In addition, the trial court later determined that Appellant was a sexually violent predator under Megan’s Law.1 This appeal followed. Both Appellant and the trial court have complied with Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a).

Appellant raises the following issues on appeal:

1.Whether the evidence was sufficient to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Appellant was guilty of [Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse (“IDSI”) ], Sexual Assault, Indecent Assault and Endangering the Welfare of Children, in that the Commonwealth failed to indentify Marc Brooks as the Defendant?
2. Whether the evidence was sufficient to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Appellant was guilty of IDSI, Sexual Assault, Indecent Assault, and Endangering the Welfare of Children, in that the Commonwealth failed to prove the commission of the crime on any date fixed with reasonable certainty and within the prescribed statutory period; let alone the time frame set forth in the Criminal Informations?
3. Whether the Commonwealth met its burden to prove by clear and convincing evidence that a person is a sexually violent predator when most of the Megan’s Law statute’s criteria have not been met and when the person is not a repeat sex offender?

Appellant’s Brief at 5.

In his fust two claims, Appellant presents separate challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions. Our standard of review is well settled:

The standard we apply in reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence is whether viewing all the evidence admitted at trial in the light most favorable to the verdict winner, there is sufficient evidence to enable the fact-finder to find every element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. In applying the above test, we may not weigh the evidence and substitute our judgment for the fact-finder. In addition, we note that the facts and circumstances established by the Commonwealth need not preclude every possibility of innocence. Any doubts regarding a defendant’s [857]*857guilt may be resolved by the fact-finder unless the evidence is so weak and inconclusive that as a matter of law no probability of fact may be drawn from the combined circumstances. The Commonwealth may sustain its burden of proving every element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt by means of wholly circumstantial evidence. Moreover, in applying the above test, the entire record must be evaluated and all evidence actually received must be considered. Finally, the [finder] of fact while passing upon the credibility of witnesses and the weight of the evidence produced, is free to believe all, part or none of the evidence.

Commonwealth v. Jones, 886 A.2d 689, 704 (Pa.Super.2005), appeal denied, 587 Pa. 686, 897 A.2d 452 (2006) (citations omitted).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
7 A.3d 852, 2010 Pa. Super. 185, 2010 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3252, 2010 WL 3916135, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-brooks-pasuperct-2010.