David Michael Flynn v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided June 15, 2018·No. 46A05-1704-CR-863·Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), FILED this Memorandum Decision shall not be Jun 15 2018, 10:04 am regarded as precedent or cited before any CLERK court except for the purpose of establishing Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals

the defense of res judicata, collateral and Tax Court

estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Jennifer L. Koethe Curtis T. Hill, Jr. La Porte, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana Lyubov Gore

Deputy Attorney General

Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE

COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

David Michael Flynn, June 15, 2018 Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.

46A05-1704-CR-863

v. Appeal from the LaPorte Circuit Court

State of Indiana, The Honorable Thomas J. Appellee-Plaintiff. Alevizos, Judge Trial Court Cause No.

46C01-1510-FA-19

Bailey, Judge.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 46A05-1704-CR-863 | June 15, 2018 Page 1 of 18

Case Summary

[1] David M. Flynn (“Flynn”) appeals his convictions, following a jury trial, for

child molesting, as a Class A felony;1 two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor, as Class B felonies;2 two counts of incest, as Class B felonies;3 and two counts of incest, as Class C felonies.4

[2] We affirm.

Issues

[3] Flynn raises the following two restated issues:

I. Whether the trial court committed reversible error when it admitted into evidence Flynn’s recorded statement to police.

II. Whether the State presented sufficient evidence to support his convictions.

Facts and Procedural History [4] On October 27, 2015, Deputy Neil Lachmund (“Dep. Lachmund”) of the

LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department responded to a domestic disturbance

1 Ind. Code § 35-42-4-3(a)(1) (2009).

2 I.C. § 35-42-4-9(a)(1) (2010).

3 I.C. § 35-46-1-3 (2011).

4 I.C. § 35-46-1-3 (2012).

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 46A05-1704-CR-863 | June 15, 2018 Page 2 of 18 involving A.F. and one of her sisters. A.F. was so upset that Dep. Lachmund asked her older sister R.F., born May 16, 1996, to accompany them to the Sheriff’s Department. During the drive, Dep. Lachmund overheard R.F. speaking to her twin sister, D.F., on her cellular telephone. He heard R.F. state that she “might have to bring up the other stuff.” Tr. Vol. II at 72. At the Sheriff’s Department, Detective Jennifer Rhine-Walker (“Det. Rhine-Walker”) spoke to R.F. alone at one point. R.F. disclosed to Det. Rhine-Walker that “there was sexual abuse going on in the home” involving her and her twin sister, but they did not want to report it at that time. Id. at 81.

[5] About an hour and a half later, R.F. approached Det. Rhine-Walker and told the detective that R.F.’s sister, D.F., was on her way to the Sheriff’s Department and that she and D.F. were willing to file a report. Both R.F. and D.F. gave the police statements that their father, Flynn, had sexually abused them. The police also conducted forensic interviews of the twins’ younger sisters who stated they had not witnessed any abuse. Two days later, at the request of the police, Flynn drove himself and another daughter, S.F., to the Sheriff’s Department to speak with the detectives. Upon his arrival, Flynn was taken into an interview room and was advised of, and waived, his Miranda rights. Flynn agreed to speak with Det. Rhine-Walker, and that interview began at approximately 10:50 a.m.

[6] During the October 29 interview with Det. Rhine-Walker, Flynn initially denied that he had ever had any sexual contact with his daughters. Det. Rhine- Walker paused the interview at 12:04 p.m., at which time she offered Flynn a Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 46A05-1704-CR-863 | June 15, 2018 Page 3 of 18 beverage and he requested coffee. State’s Ex. 1. Det. Rhine-Walker resumed the interview at 12:08 p.m., and a sheriff’s employee brought Flynn coffee. Id. Flynn stated to Det. Rhine-Walker that he was “starting to get sick now” because it made him “sick just to think about” the allegations. 5 State’s Ex. 1 at 12:08:30. Later, Det. Rhine-Walker again paused the interview for almost one hour, from 12:21 p.m. to 1:20 p.m., during which time Flynn briefly left the interview room twice. Id.

[7] At 1:20 p.m., Detective Patrick Cicero (“Det. Cicero”) entered the interview room and, with Flynn’s unsolicited help, moved the table to the side of the room. Det. Cicero introduced himself and moved his chair closer to Flynn’s chair, so that they were facing each other. Det. Cicero questioned Flynn about Flynn’s sexual encounters with his twin daughters, R.F. and D.F., using different interrogation techniques, such as trust-building techniques and reading body language. At various points during the interview, Det. Cicero placed his hand on Flynn’s knee, held Flynn’s hand, and hugged Flynn. At various points, Flynn leaned toward Det. Cicero, grasped Det. Cicero’s hand, and put his forehead up against Det. Cicero’s forehead. Several times throughout the interview, Flynn began to cry. At approximately 2:40 p.m., Det. Cicero stated,

5 Although Flynn contends that Det. Rhine-Walker offered him a garbage can when he told her he “was going to get sick,” Appellant’s Br. at 14, he does not cite to the point in the interview where those statements were made, and we are unable to locate such statements in State’s Exhibits 1 or 1A.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 46A05-1704-CR-863 | June 15, 2018 Page 4 of 18

“Let me get you something to drink, you want something to eat?” Id. at 2:39:44. Flynn replied, “No.” Id.

[8] Flynn admitted to Det. Cicero that he had sexual intercourse and oral and anal sex on multiple occasions with both of his biological twin daughters when they were between the ages of fifteen and eighteen years old. Flynn stated that R.F. and D.F. had initiated each of the sexual encounters. Flynn described in detail six sexual encounters, three with each daughter. Flynn’s descriptions of the times and places of most of the encounters matched R.F.’s and D.F.’s prior descriptions of the encounters. At approximately 4:00 p.m., Det. Cicero stated, “let’s get some coffee, are you hungry?” Id. at 4:00:25. Flynn said, “No,” and Det. Cicero left the room. Id. At approximately 4:05 p.m., Det. Cicero returned to the interview room with a coffee and a cookie for Flynn, and he encouraged Flynn to eat. Det. Cicero concluded the interview at approximately 5:30 p.m.

[9] The State charged Flynn with child molesting, as a Class A felony; two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor, as Class B felonies; two counts of incest, as Class B felonies; and two counts of incest, as Class C felonies. Flynn moved to suppress the video/audio recording of the October 29, 2015 interview of him (hereinafter, “the recording”) by detectives Rhine-Walker and Cicero, and the trial court held a suppression hearing on October 3, 2016.

[10] Det. Cicero testified at the suppression hearing that he was aware that Flynn had signed a form acknowledging his Miranda rights and waiving those rights.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 46A05-1704-CR-863 | June 15, 2018 Page 5 of 18

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