Dinkler v. State

699 S.E.2d 541, 2010 Fulton County D. Rep. 2245, 305 Ga. App. 444, 2010 Ga. App. LEXIS 583
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedJune 25, 2010
DocketA10A0505
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 699 S.E.2d 541 (Dinkler 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
Dinkler v. State, 699 S.E.2d 541, 2010 Fulton County D. Rep. 2245, 305 Ga. App. 444, 2010 Ga. App. LEXIS 583 (Ga. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

699 S.E.2d 541 (2010)

DINKLER
v.
The STATE.

No. A10A0505.

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

June 25, 2010.

*542 Joseph S. Key, McDonough, for appellant.

Tommy K. Floyd, Dist. Atty., David E. Slemons, Asst. Dist. Atty., for appellee.

MIKELL, Judge.

Earl Dinkler was convicted of two counts of cruelty to children by a Henry County jury and sentenced to fifteen years, two to serve in confinement with the balance on probation.[1] On appeal, Dinkler charges that the trial court erred when it failed to charge the jury on the lesser included offense of *543 battery and when it denied his motion for directed verdict of acquittal. We affirm.

Construed in favor of the verdict, the evidence showed that early in the morning on August 4, 2007, thirteen-year-old P.D., appellant's adopted daughter, knocked on her neighbor Donna Chapman's door and asked her for water, explaining that she had been running laps. When Chapman returned to the door, P.D. was not there. Chapman testified that later that afternoon, Dinkler visited her home to give her husband some information, and while talking, appeared to be trying to look inside her house. After Dinkler left, P.D. knocked on the door again. Chapman recalled that P.D.'s clothes were dirty and sweaty, as were her hair and nails. Chapman testified that P.D. told her that she was thirsty and hungry and had been hiding under Chapman's house; that P.D. explained that she was hiding from her parents; that she watched P.D. drink several bottles of water and fed her dinner; and that P.D. told her that she was afraid to go home because her parents had hit her. Chapman called the police.

Officer James McDaniel of the McDonough Police Department testified that he responded to Chapman's 911 call and that P.D. told him that she was afraid to go home because of the spankings she received when she did not finish exercises or chores that her parents required her to do. McDaniel contacted his supervisor then visited Dinkler's home to question him. According to McDaniel, Dinkler admitted that he spanked P.D. because she had not finished her squats and that they made the children exercise because they had anger issues. Based on the initial investigation, McDaniel transported P.D. and her younger brother, J.D., to the hospital for evaluation.

Nurse Tammy Chapko of the Henry Medical Center testified that she took care of P.D. on the day in question. Chapko testified that P.D. had extensive dark bruising from her buttocks down to her thighs and whelp marks on her thighs and complained of pain in both areas. When Chapko asked how P.D. sustained the injuries, Dinkler replied that P.D.'s mother used a wooden paddle to discipline the child and that he used a belt. However, P.D. told Chapko that she was beaten because she could not finish her exercises; she was supposed to do 15 laps, and when she could not complete them, was told to do 30 laps, then told to do squats when she could not complete laps. P.D. said that her parents considered her inability to complete the exercises to be an act of disobedience.

Dr. George Aristide testified that he treated P.D. and J.D. Dr. Aristide testified that he observed extensive bruising on P.D. and that he was horrified by her injuries. Dr. Aristide also observed bruising on J.D., although it was not as severe as P.D.'s and seemed to have occurred before P.D.'s injuries because the bruises were darker and were not raised like P.D.'s. On cross-examination, Dr. Aristide stated that J.D.'s medical records indicated that he reported that the bruising on his bottom was caused by being spanked by his mother with a wooden bat a month earlier. Additionally, the records indicated that P.D. said that she had been spanked by both parents.

P.D. testified that she was fourteen years old and that she and her younger brother were from the Ukraine and were adopted by the Dinklers when she was eight years old. She further testified her mother was the primary disciplinarian; that they were required to run 15 laps every morning; that they were only allowed to have bowel movements in the morning and that buckets were placed by their beds at night in the event they had to urinate; that they were required to dump their buckets outside and to disinfect them before returning them to their bedrooms; and that the Dinklers would prevent them from going to the restroom and when they had accidents, the Dinklers forced them to wear pull ups. On the day that P.D. went to the Chapman home, she recalled that she did not want to run her laps because she was sore from being beaten with a baseball bat on her back and legs; that her parents nonetheless made her do squats and run several laps; that Dinkler beat her and her mother hit her several times with the bat that morning; and that she hid under her neighbor's porch for quite some time. P.D. identified the pictures of the bruises that she sustained and testified that the Dinklers beat *544 her and her brother regularly. P.D. stated that the Dinklers would make her and her brother pull down their pants and underwear and touch their ankles to be spanked and that they were often in the room together when they were spanked. When asked what items they were beaten with, P.D. explained that at first, they were spanked only with a belt, but as time passed, her parents also used a bamboo stick and a baseball bat to beat them. The bat was introduced into evidence. According to P.D., both parents used the belt and bat to beat the children, and the number of times each child was hit was equal to their age plus one.

When J.D. testified, he corroborated P.D.'s testimony. He testified that he got up at 5:30 every morning and was required to run 15 laps within a certain period of time; that he was hit with a belt or bat when he failed to run the laps; that he used a bucket if he had to use the restroom during the night; that he would shower and clean his bucket after running; that he would be beaten if he had a bowel movement in the bucket; that there was a working bathroom near his room; that he would use the bathroom in his pants when his parents would not let him go to the restroom and would get beaten for doing so; and that he was forced to wear princess diapers if he urinated or defecated on himself and was ridiculed by his mother for wearing them. J.D. further testified that his mother beat him with a bamboo stick and a bat, while his father used both of those items as well as a belt. J.D. said that he was hit on his bottom and his private area and was made to assume the same position as his sister to be spanked. J.D. recalled that he sustained painful bruises that were extremely visible as a result of the beatings. J.D. also identified the bat that was used to beat him and P.D.

Dinkler testified that his wife was the primary disciplinarian for the children by default because he traveled frequently for his job. Dinkler further testified that he disciplined the children by requiring them to exercise, including running laps and pushups; that he never used a bat to discipline P.D. but had used it once to discipline J.D. after he lied to his mother because lying was a serious offense in their home; that he hit J.D. on his bottom with the small end of the bat eleven times because the rule was one "swat" for each year of age plus one; that he did not lose control while spanking J.D.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
699 S.E.2d 541, 2010 Fulton County D. Rep. 2245, 305 Ga. App. 444, 2010 Ga. App. LEXIS 583, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dinkler-v-state-gactapp-2010.