Mahamat Outman v. State of Indiana

CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 5, 2012
Docket20A03-1204-CR-197
StatusUnpublished

This text of Mahamat Outman v. State of Indiana (Mahamat Outman v. State of Indiana) 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
Mahamat Outman v. State of Indiana, (Ind. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

FILED Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as precedent or cited before Dec 05 2012, 8:55 am any court except for the purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata, CLERK collateral estoppel, or the law of the case. of the supreme court, court of appeals and tax court

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE:

MARIELENA DUERRING GREGORY F. ZOELLER Duerring Law Offices Attorney General of Indiana South Bend, Indiana KATHERINE MODESITT COOPER Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

MAHAMAT OUTMAN, ) ) Appellant-Defendant, ) ) vs. ) No. 20A03-1204-CR-197 ) STATE OF INDIANA, ) ) Appellee-Plaintiff. )

APPEAL FROM THE ELKHART SUPERIOR COURT The Honorable George W. Biddlecome, Judge Cause No. 20D03-1003-FA-11

December 5, 2012

MEMORANDUM DECISION - NOT FOR PUBLICATION

BRADFORD, Judge Appellant-Defendant Mahamat Outman was convicted of three counts of Class A

felony child molesting and one count of Class C felony child molesting. With respect to

Count III, one of the Class A felony child molesting counts, Outman was determined to be a

credit restricted felon subject to Class IV credit time. On appeal, Outman claims that the trial

court erred in labeling him a credit restricted felon because application of the credit restricted

felon statute to his underlying criminal acts violated constitutional prohibitions of ex post

facto laws. Concluding that the application of the credit restricted felon statute to Outman’s

conviction for Class A felony child molesting as alleged in Count III was not an ex post facto

violation, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

T.T. was eight years old when her mother married Outman. During the course of her

mother’s marriage to Outman, T.T. and her mother lived in an apartment with Outman in

Elkhart County. T.T. liked her step-father because he was nice to her and “bought [her]

everything [she] wanted.” Tr. p. 199.

Beginning in 2006 and continuing until the spring of 2008, Outman, on numerous

occasions, rubbed T.T.’s “boobs” and touched her “private parts.” Tr. p. 204. Outman

pulled down T.T.’s pants, placed his hand under T.T.’s underwear and rubbed his hand in

circles around the part of her body “where [she] pee[d] from.” Tr. p. 204. Outman told T.T.

not to tell her mother because he “would get in trouble and … would have a lot of time.” Tr.

p. 206. Beginning in the summer of 2008, Outman, again on numerous occasions, took off

his pants, placed his hands on T.T.’s head, and put his penis in T.T.’s mouth.

2 Outman also performed sexual intercourse on T.T. on numerous occasions during the

fall of 2008. T.T. testified that Outman performed sexual intercourse on her by placing his

penis inside her “private part” and “mov[ing] back and forth.” Tr. p. 209. T.T. specifically

testified that Outman performed sexual intercourse on her on numerous occasions during

September, October, and November of 2008. Outman continued to sexually molest T.T. until

late 2008 or early 2009. T.T. informed her mother about the molestation following an

incident in February of 2010, where Outman put his hand on T.T.’s bottom and squeezed it.

T.T.’s mother then contacted the police.

On March 11, 2010, the State charged Outman with four counts of Class A felony

child molesting and one count of Class C felony child molesting. The State subsequently

sought and was granted permission to amend the charging information to include three counts

of Class A felony child molesting1 and one count of Class C felony child molesting.2

Following trial, the jury found Outman guilty as charged. On April 5, 2012, the trial court

sentenced Outman to concurrent forty-year executed sentences with respect to each of the

Class A felony convictions and six years for the Class C felony conviction. The trial court

ordered that the sentence relating to the Class C felony conviction run consecutive to the

sentences imposed on the Class A felony convictions. The trial court further found that,

because the acts alleged in Count III demonstrated that Outman’s actions occurred after July

1, 2008, Outman qualified as a credit restricted felon with respect to Count III.

1 Ind. Code § 35-42-4-3(a)(1) (2007). 2 Ind. Code § 35-42-4-3(b) (2007).

3 DISCUSSION AND DECISION

Initially we note that Outman only challenges the trial court’s determination that he,

with respect to Count III, qualified as a credit restricted felon. Outman contends that the trial

court erred in applying the credit restricted felon statute, which became effective on July 1,

2008, to his credit time because application of the statute violated the constitutional

prohibition of ex post facto laws.

Both the United States Constitution and the Indiana Constitution prohibit ex post facto laws. Paul v. State, 888 N.E.2d 818, 825-826 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008) (citing Goldsberry v. State, 821 N.E.2d 447, 464 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005); U.S. Const. Art. I, § 10; and Ind. Const. Art. 1, § 24), trans. denied. “The analysis is the same under both.” Id. “To fall within the ex post facto prohibition, a law must be retrospective–that is, ‘it must apply to events occurring before its enactment’–and it ‘must disadvantage the offender affected by it.’” Id. (quoting Lynce v. Mathis, 519 U.S. 433, 441, 117 S. Ct. 891, 137 L.Ed.2d 63, (1997)).

Upton v. State, 904 N.E.2d 700, 705 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009).

“The credit restricted felon statute was enacted through Pub. L. 80-2008, Sec. 6,

which was effective on July 1, 2008 and applied ‘only to persons convicted after June 30,

2008.” Id. at 704. The statute, in relevant part, defined “credit restricted felon” as:

[A] person who has been convicted of at least one (1) of the following offenses: (1) Child molesting involving sexual intercourse or deviate sexual conduct (IC 35-42-4-3(a)), if: (A) the offense is committed by a person at least twenty-one (21) years of age; and (B) the victim is less than twelve (12) years of age.

Ind. Code § 35-41-1-5.5.

“A person who is a credit restricted felon and who is imprisoned for a crime or imprisoned awaiting trial or sentencing is initially assigned to Class IV. A 4 credit restricted felon may not be assigned to Class I or Class II.” Ind. Code § 35-50-6-4(b). Ind. Code § 35-50-6-3(d) provides that: “A person assigned to Class IV earns one (1) day of credit time for every six (6) days the person is imprisoned for a crime or confined awaiting trial or sentencing.”

Upton, 904 N.E.2d at 705.

In the instant matter, it is undisputed that Outman was at least twenty-one years old

and that T.T. was less than twelve years old during the fall of 2008. On appeal, Outman

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Related

Lynce v. Mathis
519 U.S. 433 (Supreme Court, 1997)
Goldsberry v. State
821 N.E.2d 447 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2005)
Paul v. State
888 N.E.2d 818 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2008)
Upton v. State
904 N.E.2d 700 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2009)

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