In re S.J.

118 N.E.3d 1061, 2018 Ohio 3296
CourtCourt of Appeals of Ohio, Second District, Montgomery County
DecidedAugust 17, 2018
DocketNo. 27713
StatusPublished

This text of 118 N.E.3d 1061 (In re S.J.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Ohio, Second District, Montgomery County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re S.J., 118 N.E.3d 1061, 2018 Ohio 3296 (Ohio Super. Ct. 2018).

Opinion

DONOVAN, J.

{¶ 1} This matter is before the Court on the August 31, 2017 Notice of Appeal of S.J. S.J. was adjudicated delinquent on three counts of rape, in violation of R.C. 2907.02(A)(1)(b), and on September 2, 2016, the juvenile court committed him to the Department of Youth Services ("DYS") for one year, or until his twenty-first birthday, on each count, to be served consecutively. S.J. was also designated a Tier III juvenile offender registrant ("JOR").

{¶ 2} S.J. initially appealed from the juvenile court's judgment designating him a Tier III JOR. On June 23, 2017, this Court determined that "the trial court committed plain error by failing to determine whether S.J. was age-eligible to be designated as a JOR under R.C. 2152.83(B)," in other words, that he was 14 years of age or older at the time of the offense. This Court reversed and vacated the classification of S.J. as a Tier III JOR and remanded the matter to the juvenile court solely "for a redetermination of whether S.J. may be classified as a juvenile offender registrant." In re S.J. , 2d Dist. Montgomery No. 27287, 2017-Ohio-5499, 2017 WL 2729884, ¶¶ 2, 46 (" S.J. I "). Upon remand, on August 1, 2017, the juvenile court determined in part that S.J. "is to remain a Tier III Juvenile Sex Offender," and the instant appeal is from that determination. We hereby affirm the judgment of the trial court.

{¶ 3} S.J. was charged by way of complaint on February 27, 2016, with three counts of rape. The first two counts involved C.T., and the third count involved A.S. Both victims are S.J.'s cousins. The date range in the complaint for the offenses was "on or about 01-01-10 - 01-01-11." The complaint noted that S.J. was "a child about the age of 19 years (13 at time of offense)." At S.J.'s adjudication, T.J. and E.J., who are sisters and S.J.'s aunts, testified. A.S., who is T.J.'s son, and C.T., who is E.J.'s daughter, also testified. Finally, S.J. testified and denied committing the offenses.

*1064{¶ 4} The hearing on remand occurred on July 28, 2017. At the start of the hearing, the following exchange occurred:

THE COURT:
* * *
The Court would note for the record that the youth will turn 21, in I believe, in two days, and so that, technically speaking, I believe I have to make the following determinations: One, does this Court find there's reasonable cause to believe that any of the offenses he was found responsible for took place on or after his date of birth that he would have been 14.
If I do make those findings, I have to redetermine the issue of classification, and then if I find that I can make a determination as to him being 14 at the time of committing one of the offenses, and if I decide to classify him, theoretically, not today, but back to the date of the original disposition, then, because he's turning 21 in two days and being released from the Department of Youth Services * * * I must make an additional determination because he's being released from DYS - - and I'm going to release him, actually, today from DYS - - whether or not he should stay classified or be modified down in terms of classification.
And I believe that's the process and what I plan to go through today, three specific issues. It all, of course, relies on my first decision.
* * *
THE COURT: * * * Mr. Carter, from your perspective as defense counsel, do you believe my process of how I should be proceeding is in line with the decision issued by the Second District Court of Appeals?
MR. CARTER: I don't see any variance at this stage, Your Honor.
* * *
THE COURT:
* * *
Counsel, the Court of Appeals in no way states the need for the Court to hold a hearing or to present arguments, simply for the Court to reissue my decision after reviewing the transcript, reviewing the facts. And that's how I plan to proceed.
* * *
I have reviewed the transcript, the file, and I'm going to go through in detail the breakdown of why I'm making the decision I will be making.

{¶ 5} As to counts one and three in the complaint, the court determined that there was not sufficient evidence presented to determine whether or not the rapes occurred prior or subsequent to S.J.'s fourteenth birthday. As to count two, the court found that there was sufficient evidence to conclude that the rape of C.T. took place on or after S.J. turned 14 on July 30, 2010. The court noted that T.J. testified that S.J. lived with her "during the summer of 2010 or maybe 2009." The court noted that "there's some conflicting testimony here," but T.J. "notes in her testimony that it was during the period of time in which [S.J.] had involvement with juvenile court, which is critical to this Court." The court noted that a "review of the youth's prior record shows that the Defendant's first involvement with this court began on July 29th, 2010, one day before his 14th birthday. And that was an offense that occurred on May 11th, 2010. That was case number 10-6597."

{¶ 6} The court noted that T.J. testified that A.S. was "about five when [S.J.] lived with them. A.S. specifically testified he was five years old when [S.J.] raped him." The court noted that A.S. was born in March 2015, and that "he would have been five years of age during the summer of 2010."

*1065According to the court, T.J.'s and A.S.'s "testimony both indicate the offense occurred in 2010."

{¶ 7} The court further noted that C.T. "testified that [S.J.] lived with her family in either 2009 or 2010, when she was nine or ten years of age." The court noted that C.T. was born in June of 2002, and she "would have been nine years old in 2011 or ten years old in 2012." The court noted that C.T. "testified that the second incident occurred at the park near her house when [S.J.] was living with her family."

{¶ 8} The court further noted that C.T.'s mother, E.J., "testified that [S.J.] lived with her family in the summer and fall of 2010," and that [S.J.] "had lived with her sister, [T.J.] and her family in the summer of 2010 before he came to live with her and her family." The court noted E.J.'s testimony that "C.T. was eight going on nine years of age while [S.J.] lived with them." The court concluded, "[t]herefore, based on the testimony, [S.J.] would have lived with [E.J.] in the summer of 2010." The court noted that C.T.'s and E.J.'s "testimony indicate the offenses took place in 2010."

{¶ 9} Regarding whether or not the offense occurred before or after S.J.'s birthday, the court noted that S.J. testified that he lived with T.J. and E.J. in 2011. The trial court observed that S.J. "states that he remembers it was 2011 because that was when he caught his first juvenile case, when he and his brother were dealing with juvenile court. However, as reviewing the files, his testimony is inaccurate, because [S.J.'s] first juvenile case was, in fact, in 2010." The court noted that S.J.

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Bluebook (online)
118 N.E.3d 1061, 2018 Ohio 3296, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-sj-ohctapp2montgom-2018.