Douglas v. State

484 N.E.2d 610, 1985 Ind. App. LEXIS 2897
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 29, 1985
Docket4-184A3
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 484 N.E.2d 610 (Douglas v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Douglas v. State, 484 N.E.2d 610, 1985 Ind. App. LEXIS 2897 (Ind. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinions

YOUNG, Presiding Judge.

Robert Wayne Douglas was convicted by jury of criminal deviate conduct, a Class B felony, and child molesting, a Class C felony, and was sentenced to six years in prison. He appeals, raising these three issues:

1) whether the trial court erred by refusing to require production of police reports;
2) whether the court erred by allowing an expert witness to give an opinion as to whether the young victim was telling the truth; and
3) whether the evidence was sufficient to sustain his convictions.

We reverse and remand for a new trial.

The alleged incident occurred on January 8, 1988. MR., the four-year-old male vice-tim, rode with Douglas to the bank. M.R.'s mother had some banking transactions to complete and had driven separately so that Douglas, her boyfriend, could return his car to his son. While M.R.'s mother was at the drive-up window, Douglas parked at the side of the bank. As they waited, Douglas unzipped his pants, exposed his penis, placed his hands on M.R.'s head, and made MR. perform fellatio upon him. Thereafter, Douglas fondled himself and, according to M.R.'s testimony, "peed on the floor" of the car. Douglas then drove to his son's home. M.R.'s mother followed in her car. When Douglas exited the car, M.R.'s mother noticed his pants were unzipped. Suspicious due to other unexplained incidents, she questioned MR. while Douglas was inside his son's house. M.R. then described what had occurred earlier. The instant charges resulted.

Douglas first contends the trial court erred in refusing to compel the state to produce all relevant police reports. He neglects to mention, however, that the Supreme Court of Indiana issued a Writ of Mandamus in this case which required the trial court to exelude police reports from the discovery orders.1

We have no power to review the actions of our supreme court. A trial court does not err by obeying a Writ of Mandamus issued by the highest court of this state.

Next Douglas argues the trial court erred in allowing the state's expert witness to give her opinion as to whether M.R. was telling the truth about the incident. On direct examination Brenda Turnbloom, a psychiatric social worker, was asked her opinion as to whether M.R. was telling the truth. Over appellant's objection, she answered: "I believe M.R. I think he's telling the truth." She then testified to objective observations of M.R.'s behavior which led her to believe his story was true.

The trial court clearly erred in allowing her to give an opinion of the truthfulness of another witness. Our supreme court has specifically held that such statements are improper, explaining:

Whenever an alleged child victim takes the witness stand in such cases, the child's capacity to accurately describe a [612]*612meeting with an adult which may involve touching, sexual stimulation, displays of affection and the like, is automatically in issue, whether or not there is an effort by the opponent of such witness to impeach on the basis of a lack of such capacity. The presence of that issue justifies the court in permitting some accrediting of the child witness in the form of opinions from parents, teachers, and others having adequate experience with the child, that the child is not prone to exaggerate or fantasize about sexual matters. Such opinions will facilitate an original credibility assessment of the child by the trier of fact, so long as they do not take the direct form of "I believe the child's story", or "In my opinion the child is telling the truth".

{(emphasis added.) Lawrence v. State (1984), Ind., 464 N.E.2d 923, 925. It is permissible in child molesting cases to question an expert witness regarding objective indications that the child might be fabricating the story or objective observations of the child's behavior which would lend credence to the child's testimony. Nevertheless, the ultimate factual determination of whether the incident actually occurred should be made by the trier of fact. To admit such testimony over appellant's objection was reversible error and entitles appellant to a new trial.

Finally, Douglas challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction for criminal deviate conduct and child molesting.

The charging instrument in this case appears to be an innovative attempt to circumvent the constitutional prohibition of double jeopardy by charging appellant twice for the same offense. Douglas was charged with criminal deviate conduct and child molesting. The information alleged in pertinent part:

On or about the 8rd day of January, 1983, in Madison County, State of Indiana, ROBERT DWAYNE DOUGLAS did knowingly cause M.R. to submit to deviate sexual conduct, to-wit: place M.R.'s mouth on the penis of ROBERT DWAYNE DOUGLAS while MR., who was four (4) years of age, was so mentally deficient that he could not consent to such deviate sexual conduct.
On or about the 3rd day of January, 1983, in Madison County, State of Indiana, ROBERT DWAYNE DOUGLAS did submit to fondling and touching of ROBERT DWAYNE DOUGLAS' penis by MR., a child who is under the age of twelve (12) years with the intent to arouse or satisfy the sexual desire of ROBERT DWAYNE DOUGLAS.

Both counts refer to the touching of Douglas' penis by MR. Neither during the investigation of the incident nor during the trial was there any indication or allegation that any touching or fondling had occurred other than the single touching of Douglas' penis by M.R.'s mouth. Furthermore, if the state's intention was to properly allege facts supporting the fondling charge as a factually included offense, the greater offense should have been charged as deviate sexual conduct under the child molesting statute, which eriminalizes all sexual acts against children, deviate sexual conduct as well as touching or fondling. See IND.CODE 35-42-4-8(a) and (b).

We do not reach the double jeopardy issue in these convictions, however, since the evidence supporting one of the charges was clearly insufficient. The applicable section of the criminal deviate conduct statute, IC 85-42-4-2, under which Douglas was charged, provides:

A person who knowingly or intentionally causes another person to perform or submit to deviate sexual conduct when:
(8) the other person is so mentally disabled or deficient that consent to the conduct cannot be given; commits erimi-nal deviate conduct, a Class B felony.

Deviate sexual conduct is defined by IC 35-41-1-2 as "an act of sexual gratification involving a sex organ of one person and the mouth or anus of another person." The term "mentally deficient" as alleged in the charging information is not defined. Web[613]

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Douglas v. State
484 N.E.2d 610 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1985)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
484 N.E.2d 610, 1985 Ind. App. LEXIS 2897, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/douglas-v-state-indctapp-1985.