Smith v. State

342 S.E.2d 769, 178 Ga. App. 300, 1986 Ga. App. LEXIS 2512
Court of Appeals of Georgia·Decided March 18, 1986·No. 71133·Published·Cited by 15 cases

Opinions

Beasley, Judge.

Smith was tried before a jury on an indictment which alleged six counts of child molestation of the same young girl and was convicted of four counts.

1. Appellant asserts that the trial court erred in denying his general demurrers to the four counts of child molestation in the indictment for which he was convicted, on the basis that these counts do not charge a crime under the laws of this state. OCGA § 16-6-4.

Count two accused Smith of observing Patricia in the use of a mechanical vibrator device on her genital area.

Count three accused Smith of showing to and describing the use of a condom to Patricia in the presence of another child, with the children observing Smith having a sexual erection while describing the condom.

Count four accused him of sitting on the bed on several occasions with Patricia and other girls and fondling her legs.

Count six alleged that Smith fondled Patricia’s breast while comparing to and fondling his own daughter’s breast in the presence of another young girl friend.

All four of the challenged counts in the indictment include the allegation that the acts were immoral and indecent and were done with the intent to arouse and satisfy the sexual desires of the child or children and of himself. They charge the offenses in the language of OCGA § 16-6-4 and provide the defendant with a detailed description of the particular acts constituting the violations of the statute. “ ‘An indictment which charges the offense defined by a legislative act, in the language of the act, where the description of the acts alleged as constituting the offense is full enough to put the defendant on notice of the offense with which he is charged is sufficiently specific.’ ” Gaines v. State, 80 Ga. App. 512, 517 (56 SE2d 772) (1949). To be good, the counts, at issue must state the offenses charged in detail sufficient to give Smith ample opportunity to prepare a defense. Morris v. State, 166 Ga. App. 137, 139 (1) (303 SE2d 492) (1983).

Whether or not the evidence applied to the acts charged provided [301] the necessary elements for a violation of OCGA § 16-6-4, including the specific intent, would be for the jury to determine.

An examination of each of the four charges shows that the acts may be “acts which offend against the public’s sense of propriety.” Chapman v. State, 170 Ga. App. 779, 780 (318 SE2d 213) (1984). As explained in Chapman, the Georgia law against child molestation proscribes acts which offend against this public sense of propriety as well as affording protection to a child’s body in those cases where the act or acts are more suggestive of sexually oriented misconduct than simply assaultive in nature. A child’s mind may be victimized by molestation as well.

Smith’s demurrers were properly denied.

2. Appellant asserts that the evidence does not support the verdicts and thus the trial court erred in denying his motion for new trial.

Viewing the evidence most favorably towards the verdict as we must, Adams v. State, 255 Ga. 356, 357 (1) (338 SE2d 860) (1986), it showed the following pattern of sexual misconduct: Smith got Patricia into his bedroom and touched her between her legs. Smith watched her and his daughter and other of their friends while the children used a mechanical vibrator on their genital areas. The vibrator was kept in Smith’s room and the children would use it every time they went to the Smith home. While in his bedroom, Smith showed Patricia, his daughter and another friend a condom and described and explained how it worked; during the explanation, Patricia observed Smith having a sexual erection. At times, Smith would sit between Patricia and his daughter on the daughter’s bed and rub the girls’ legs with his hand. Smith touched Patricia’s breasts and compared them with those of his daughter and another one of the daughter’s young friends. Every time Patricia and his daughter undressed in the latter’s bedroom, Smith would unlock the bedroom door to watch; he would rub Patricia’s “fanny” and put his hands on her panties. He would serve the children refreshments while they watched adult movies containing nudity and were exposed to adult magazines. Smith made it a point to stay around the young girls when they were visiting his home and instructed the girls not to tell Mrs. Smith about the movies and the magazines.

Nine young girls between the ages of nine and thirteen related substantially the same instances of sexually related activity. A caseworker who had investigated the allegations of child molestation and who had spoken individually with the children as well as with their parents, and who had had four group meetings with the children, found them to be distraught, crying, and wanting answers.

Also a clinical psychologist was called as a rebuttal witness by the state. She had seen professionally over one hundred children who had [302] been sexually molested. In that capacity she saw four of the young girls who testified at trial. She stated that each child evidenced a number of factors typically seen in child molestation victims, factors such as guilt, anxiety and fear.

Here, the intent to commit the acts charged was a crucial element; it was a question for the jury. The jury was charged on the law of the case and heard all the evidence. It had to decide if Smith’s conduct in each instance was or was not with the evil intent proscribed and whether or not, taken in context, it was immoral or indecent. “Weighing the evidence and assigning the truth is best done by a jury of the vicinage. What that jury establishes by its verdict from an evaluation of the whole and determines to be the truth of the matter in controversy ought to be accepted. ... We find ample support for a finding that the [pattern of] conduct manifested by appellant was contrary to conscience, or moral law, and was inimical to public welfare according to the standards of society as perceived by the jury, and that the [pattern of] conduct did not conform to generally accepted standards of morality indeed tended toward or was an act generally viewed as morally and sexually indelicate, improper and offensive.” Chapman v. State, supra at 780.

A rational trier of fact could have found Smith guilty of the four counts of child molestation beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979); Chapman v. State, supra.

The trial court was authorized to deny appellant’s motion for new trial based upon a claim of insufficiency of the evidence.

3. Appellant maintains that the court erred in denying his motion for a directed verdict as to count two.

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Smith v. State, 342 S.E.2d 769, 178 Ga. App. 300, 1986 Ga. App. LEXIS 2512 (Ga. Ct. App. 1986).

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