Drayton Reed Hinton v. State of Texas

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided January 20, 2021·No. 09-19-00134-CR·Published

Opinion

In The

Court of Appeals

Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont

NO. 09-19-00134-CR

DRAYTON REED HINTON, Appellant V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 435th District Court Montgomery County, Texas

Trial Cause No. 17-02-02097-CR

MEMORANDUM OPINION

A Montgomery County grand jury indicted Drayton Reed Hinton for the first-

degree felony offense of injury to a child. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 22.04(a), (e). Hinton entered an open plea of guilty to the second-degree felony offense of injury to a child. Hinton elected to have the trial court assess punishment. Following a punishment trial, the trial court sentenced Hinton to twenty years of confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Institutional Division. Hinton timely

appealed his sentence challenging the admission of certain evidence.1 For the following reasons, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.

Background

After the premature birth of their granddaughter, F.S., 2 Hinton and his wife became her guardians. Hinton was unemployed at the time, but his wife worked, so he became F.S.’s primary caregiver. At the time Hinton began caring for F.S., he was being treated for low testosterone levels by Lynn Marquardt, a chiropractor and nurse practitioner. Marquardt prescribed a topical testosterone cream for Hinton to help increase muscle mass and to lose weight.

During the first few months of F.S.’s life, her regular medical examinations revealed normal female genitalia; however, in February 2016, there was marked clitoral enlargement noted by her pediatrician. Accordingly, the pediatrician recommended a consult with an endocrinologist. This condition progressively became worse, and she had repeat testosterone levels of 2,000 or greater. The evidence established that for a female child F.S.’s age, the free testosterone levels

1 We have liberally construed Hinton’s briefing in this case and addressed his complaints as raised in the “Grounds for Review” portion of his brief. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.9. 2 We refer to the victim and her family members with pseudonyms or initials, to conceal their identity. See Tex. Const. art. I, § 30(a)(1) (granting crime victims “the right to be treated with fairness and with respect for the victim’s dignity and privacy throughout the criminal justice process”).

should be undetectable. Additionally, the medical records and testimony established that at sixteen-months-old, F.S. had an accelerated bone age of three years.

Dr. Rebecca Girardet, a pediatrician specializing in child abuse, testified that in February 2017, when F.S. was admitted to Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, the admitting medical team called her for a consult. She explained the admitting medical team had concerns about medical neglect given F.S.’s elevated testosterone levels, the family’s refusal to follow recommendations to prevent F.S.’s exposure, a concern about possible inappropriate sexual contact, and an open CPS case. Dr. Girardet testified and her report noted that the medical team ruled out any endogenous causes for F.S.’s elevated testosterone levels, concluding the source was exogenous and “continued contact with testosterone cream appears by far to be the most likely cause of her symptoms[.]” 3 The evidence established that F.S.’s treating physicians explained to Hinton repeatedly that exposure to his testosterone cream likely caused F.S.’s virilization, genital abnormalities, and accelerated growth. The evidence further established that F.S.’s physicians told Hinton he must take precautions to prevent her further exposure to the testosterone cream, he should obtain a second opinion about his

3 Dr. Girardet explained that “[e]ndogenous cause would mean there would be something going on inside [F.S.’s] body that’s causing the testosterone levels to be abnormally high like a tumor whereas an exogenous source would be something from outside her body like a testosterone supplement.”

continued use of the medication, and even abstain from using it while the infant was in his care. The evidence also showed that despite these repeated warnings, Hinton continued to refill the prescriptions for the testosterone cream and use the topical cream. Dr. Girardet also testified at trial that once Hinton no longer had any physical contact with F.S., her testosterone levels dropped.

Dr. Duong Tu, F.S.’s treating pediatric urologist, also testified. Dr. Tu practices at Texas Children’s Hospital, where he treated F.S. in July 2017 after she was referred to their Gender Medicine Clinic. Dr. Tu described his observations of F.S., which included her distress, her deep voice, and the appearance of her genitals. Dr. Tu explained that in their clinic they see many patients with clitoromegaly,4 but this was by far the most severe case he had seen. Dr. Tu also described how the elongation of F.S.’s clitoris distorted the labia and changed the structure of her genital area. Dr. Tu performed surgery to reduce the size of F.S.’s clitoris, and he explained he had to balance reducing the size and eliminating tissue overgrowth with preserving function. He testified that the area is “still prominent[]” after surgery, and the amount of the tissue he removed was the most he ever had to remove in a case like this. Dr. Tu described F.S.’s case as “unprecedented[]” and said they would have

4 Clitoromegaly is defined as “[a]n enlarged clitoris.”

https://dictionary.com/browse/clitoromegaly (last accessed 12/7/2020).

to wait and see how this condition impacted the child, which he discussed with her caregivers.

Both physicians described the significance of F.S.’s condition and the life-

long impacts it would have on her. Dr. Girardet explained that the accelerated growth rate could even impede F.S.’s ability to walk, as well as her overall mobility. Dr. Tu explained that F.S. would likely require further reduction surgery as she approached puberty. He also explained the negative psychological ramifications associated with these surgeries and discussed the potential effects of high levels of testosterone can have on a child generally.

T.L., a maternal great-aunt, also testified. T.L. became F.S.’s primary caregiver after the surgery and during her follow-up medical treatment.5 T.L. testified regarding the permanent damage F.S. has suffered. Specifically, she described that F.S. has negative playground interactions because of her deep voice. T.L. described the difficulties she encountered anytime she had to change F.S.’s diaper in public. T.L. also testified that F.S. required physical therapy and braces on her arms due to the muscular issues associated with her excessive exposure to testosterone hormones.

Hinton testified on his own behalf during the punishment trial. He admitted the pediatrician and endocrinologist both told him that he caused and was negatively

5 Ultimately, T.L.’s sister planned to adopt F.S.

affecting F.S.’s condition by continued exposure to the topical testosterone cream, but he did not believe them. Hinton told the court that F.S.’s doctors instructed him to stop using the cream, but he did not listen to them. Hinton testified he did not trust F.S.’s doctors’ opinions regarding the connection between his use of the cream and her condition, rather he trusted Marquardt, who originally prescribed it to him, and it did not matter to him that she was not a medical doctor. He testified that when F.S.’s doctors told him to get a second opinion about the use of testosterone cream around the infant, he instead returned to Marquardt. According to Hinton, Marquardt told him what he wanted to hear, which was that he could continue using the cream and that it was not the cause of F.S.’s medical problems.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Drayton Reed Hinton v. State of Texas, (Tex. Ct. App. 2021).

Drayton Reed Hinton v. State of Texas (Drayton Reed Hinton v. State of Texas) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Hudson v. State
675 S.W.2d 507 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1984)
Taylor v. State
268 S.W.3d 571 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2008)
Rodriguez v. State
90 S.W.3d 340 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2002)
Rogers v. State
991 S.W.2d 263 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1999)
Williams v. State
958 S.W.2d 844 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1997)
Wilson v. State
71 S.W.3d 346 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2002)
Ethington v. State
819 S.W.2d 854 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1991)
Leday v. State
983 S.W.2d 713 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1998)
Murphy v. State
777 S.W.2d 44 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1989)
Martinez v. State
98 S.W.3d 189 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2003)
Pena v. State
285 S.W.3d 459 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2009)
Hayden v. State
296 S.W.3d 549 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2009)
McGee v. State
233 S.W.3d 315 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2007)
Davis v. State
329 S.W.3d 798 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2010)
De La Paz v. State
279 S.W.3d 336 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2009)
Beham v. State
559 S.W.3d 474 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2018)