Harlmo v. State

383 S.W.3d 447, 2011 Ark. App. 314, 2011 Ark. App. LEXIS 339
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedApril 27, 2011
DocketNo. CA CR 10-785
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 383 S.W.3d 447 (Harlmo v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harlmo v. State, 383 S.W.3d 447, 2011 Ark. App. 314, 2011 Ark. App. LEXIS 339 (Ark. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

DOUG MARTIN, Judge.

liA Desha County jury found appellant Curtis Demond Harlmo guilty of raping his seven-year-old daughter, C.H., and he was sentenced to thirty-three years’ imprisonment. Appellant raises three points on appeal: (1) the evidence was insufficient to support his rape conviction; (2) the trial court erred in denying his motion in limine to exclude hearsay testimony offered by a forensics nurse; and (3) the trial court erred in denying his motion in limine to prohibit introduction of a drawing created by C.H. We affirm appellant’s conviction.

At trial, Deana Strolh with the Arkansas State Police testified that she received a hotline tip regarding the abuse of C.H. and initiated an investigation within twenty-four hours. Strolh interviewed C.H. at the Children’s Protection Center in Little Rock on or about July 1, 2009. Strolh testified that C.H. drew a picture while waiting for the interviewer to return to the 12room and that the drawing was not made at anyone’s behest. The drawing was later introduced into evidence over appellant’s objection during C.H.’s testimony.

Doris Hill, another investigator with the Arkansas State Police, testified that she made repeated attempts to contact C.H.’s mother in order to arrange to have C.H. examined for signs of sexual abuse. Hill eventually contacted C.H.’s mother and conducted a second interview with C.H. on July 28, 2009, at the Children’s Advocacy Center in Pine Bluff.

Carla Thomas, a registered nurse employed at the Children’s Advocacy Center, testified that, in the course of her job as a “forensics nurse,” she notes a child’s height and weight, does a basic physical examination, and asks the reason that the child is being examined. Thomas testified that, in the course of her examination, she gathers a statement from the victim to determine what areas of her body were violated. Thomas testified that the statement “tells me when to treat, how to treat, and if they need to come back for more curative reasons.” Thomas also testified that she routinely tests for sexually transmitted diseases. Thomas testified that, based on the findings of her examination and what C.H. told her, she referred C.H. to counseling, which she deemed “medically necessary.”

Thomas testified that she examined C.H. on July 28, 2009. Thomas testified that C.H.’s vaginal area was cleft at twelve o’clock and that C.H. had no hymenal rim at six o’clock. According to Thomas, such trauma was not typical for a seven-year-old child, unless the child has been sexually assaulted. Thomas further testified that C.H. had white hypertrophic scarring in the anal area, which she indicated on her notes was “highly suspicious.” Thomas explained 13that, if C.H. had been seen within seventy-two hours of the abuse, she would expect to see “some redness and bruising, some scarring, and possibly some bleeding” but that C.H. told her the abuse had occurred months earlier during spring break, so the trauma was already healed.

The trial court permitted Thomas to testify regarding hearsay relayed to her by C.H. during the examination, so long as Thomas did not in any manner identify the perpetrator. Thomas testified that C.H. told her that the perpetrator put a towel over her legs and put his “private part” into her “private part” and that the perpetrator had done so more than ten times. Thomas stated that C.H. also told her the perpetrator “put his private part in [her] butt.” Thomas further testified that C.H. told her that “white stuff’ came out of the perpetrator’s “front private.”

C.H. was eight years old at the time of trial. C.H. testified as to what was depicted in the drawing she created during the initial interview. C.H. indicated that she was not wearing any clothes in the drawing. C.H. identified her “daddy” on the right side of the drawing and testified that he was standing with his pants down and “putting his private part in my butt.” C.H. testified that she did not remember whether appellant did anything to her “front private part” but that she remembered appellant doing something to her “back private part,” which she said made her sad.

C.H. further testified that her mother worked at night and that, although she stayed with a babysitter much of the time, she sometimes stayed with appellant at his trailer. C.H. testified that appellant gave her baths in the same room as that depicted in her drawing. |4According to C.H., appellant put soap and water from a jug on a towel and washed her standing up on the floor. She stated that, while this was happening to her, her brothers and sisters were in the front room watching television or playing with toys. C.H. testified that none of the other people she stayed with did what she had described and that appellant is the only one who ever did such things to her.

Davisha Harlmo, C.H.’s mother, testified that she is married to appellant and that the couple has five children, ranging in age from two to eight years old. Mrs. Harlmo testified that she and appellant were separated from January 2009 to July 2009. Mrs. Harlmo testified that she left appellant due to his infidelity and that she was angry over that and what he had done to her child. Mrs. Harlmo testified, however, that she did not tell C.H. to “make up these stories.” Mrs. Harlmo first testified that appellant “barely kept [the children]” but later testified that C.H. stayed with appellant a couple of times and stayed overnight many times. Mrs. Harlmo testified that, although C.H. had been referred for counseling, she did not take C.H. for counseling because “she’s already messed up enough.”

Appellant took the stand and testified that he did not have any contact with C.H. from October 2008 until March 2009 because he was incarcerated. Appellant testified that he did have contact with C.H. from March 11, 2009, until June 30, 2009, when he took clothes over to the babysitter’s house and when C.H. stayed with him during the last week of June. Appellant testified that, when C.H. stayed the night, she actually stayed with his grandmother because he did not have running water at his trailer. Appellant testified that, although he did 15not spend a lot of time with his daughters at night, he did during the daytime. Appellant testified that he believed C.H. was abused by somebody but that he was disgusted when he heard C.H.’s testimony and believed she was “coached.” Appellant testified, “I feel that I’m being a scapegoat.”

Sufficiency of the Evidence

Appellant moved for a directed verdict on the grounds that there was no evidence of penetration, an element of rape, other than C.H.’s testimony. The trial court denied appellant’s motion. We treat a motion for a directed verdict as a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence. Terry v. State, 366 Ark. 441, 236 S.W.3d 495 (2006). When reviewing a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, this court assesses the evidence in a light most favorable to the State and considers only the evidence that supports the verdict. Hanlin v. State, 356 Ark. 516, 157 S.W.3d 181 (2004). We will affirm a judgment of conviction if substantial evidence exists to support it. Id. Substantial evidence is evidence which is of sufficient force and character that it will, with reasonable certainty, compel a conclusion one way or the other, without resorting to speculation or conjecture. Id.

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Bluebook (online)
383 S.W.3d 447, 2011 Ark. App. 314, 2011 Ark. App. LEXIS 339, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harlmo-v-state-arkctapp-2011.