State v. Ackley

2002 Ohio 6002, 778 N.E.2d 676, 120 Ohio Misc. 2d 60
CourtLake County Court of Common Pleas
DecidedJune 14, 2002
DocketNo. 02CR000072
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 2002 Ohio 6002 (State v. Ackley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Lake County Court of Common Pleas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Ackley, 2002 Ohio 6002, 778 N.E.2d 676, 120 Ohio Misc. 2d 60 (Ohio Super. Ct. 2002).

Opinion

Eugene A. Lucci, Judge.

{¶ 1} This matter came on for consideration upon the motion to dismiss the charge of gross sexual imposition, filed by defendant on May 10, 2002, the state’s response to the motion to dismiss, filed May 28, 2002, the oral arguments heard [63]*63by the court on May 31, 2002, and the state’s post-hearing supplemental authority, filed June 7, 2002.

{¶ 2} The defendant contends that R.C. 2907.05 is unconstitutional on its face and as applied in this case, because the definition of “sexual contact,” as set forth in R.C. 2907.01(B), is unconstitutionally vague in that it does not'put a reasonable person on notice as to what conduct is prohibited. The state of Ohio opposes the motion and contends that the statute and its definitions are constitutionally clear as to the conduct proscribed.

{¶ 3} Defendant Richard Ackley is charged with gross sexual imposition in that he is alleged to have engaged in sexual contact with a minor under the age of 13 years. The state alleges that the defendant touched the victim on her shoulders, sides, stomach, and abdomen, for the purpose of sexually arousing or gratifying himself. The defendant contends that, since the body parts alleged to have been touched by defendant do not come within the specifically listed “erogenous zones,” as set forth in R.C. 2907.01(B), he is not in violation of the statute, or that if the statute does apply to his conduct, the definition of “sexual contact” is so vague as not to put a reasonable person on notice as to what is a violation.

{¶ 4} R.C. 2907.01(B) defines “sexual contact”:

{¶ 5} “ ‘Sexual contact’ means any touching of an erogenous zone of another, including without limitation the thigh, genitals, buttock, pubic region, or, if the person is a female, a breast, for the purpose of sexually arousing or gratifying either person.”

{¶ 6} R.C. 2907.05(A), which defendant is charged with violating, defines the offense of gross sexual imposition in this case, and states:

{¶ 7} “No person shall have sexual contact with another, not the spouse of the offender * * * when any of the following applies: * * * (4) The other person * * * is less than thirteen years of age, whether or not the offender knows the age of that person.”

{¶ 8} The defendant contends that the state’s interpretation of the statute would proscribe touching any part of the body of another as “sexual contact.” The defendant further argues that if the shoulder, side, stomach, and abdomen can be erogenous zones, then any part of the body can be an erogenous zone, and as a result, the statute is too vague to be constitutional.

{¶ 9} This court construes the “sexual contact” definition as requiring proof beyond a reasonable doubt by the state that the part of the body being touched is, in fact, an “erogenous zone” of the victim, and that the purpose of the touching was to sexually arouse or gratify either the offender or the victim. The [64]*64body parts listed in the statute — the thigh, genitals, buttock, pubic region, or if the person is a female, a breast — are per se erogenous zones, and the state is relieved of the obligation to prove that those listed body parts are, in fact, erogenous zones; but the state still bears the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that those body parts were, in fact, touched by the defendant.

{¶ 10} This court does not read the sexual-contact definition to allow prosecution for the touching of any body part other than the specifically identified ones, without proof that such body part is an “erogenous zone.” If the legislature had intended to allow prosecution for the touching of any body part, it simply could have written the statute to read, “Sexual contact means any touching of the body of another for the purpose of sexually arousing or gratifying either person.” Therefore, this court considers prosecution viable only for instances where the offender is accused of touching an erogenous zone of the victim for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification of either person.

{¶ 11} The constitutional issue in this case arises because of the statute’s employment of the term “erogenous zone of another.” Defendant’s argument poses the following question: “Where the victim is less than 13 years old, and the offender touches an alleged erogenous zone on the minor victim’s body for the purpose of sexually arousing or gratifying either person, but the body part that was touched is not one that has traditionally been thought of as an erogenous zone, does the language of the statute allow the offender to know in advance that it is a crime to touch that body part for that purpose?” The answer to that question is “yes.” In the present case, if the offender is proved to have touched the shoulder, side, abdomen, and stomach of a minor under the age of 13, and if he is proved to have touched those body parts of the victim for the purpose of sexually arousing himself or his victim, then no one was in a better position than the offender to know in advance that he was committing the crime that the General Assembly sought to proscribe when it enacted this statute.

{¶ 12} The legislature has not defined the phrase “erogenous zone.” Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines “erogenous” as “of, relating to, or arousing sexual feelings.” It might be argued that the statute seems to require that those sexual feelings be the victim’s. Complicating the argument further, there are some body parts that possess no nerves, such as the hair, so that the hair of another can be touched without the victim even knowing it. In addition, who would argue that an infant has any erogenous zones, as Webster would define it?

{¶ 13} Webster’s New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, defines “erogenous” as “designating or of those areas of the body, as the genital, oral, and anal zones, that are particularly sensitive to sexual stimulation.” Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language (1968) 493, defines the word [65]*65“erogenous” to mean “designating or of those zones, or parts, of the body the stimulation of which tends to arouse sexual desire.” This court does not construe Webster’s definitions to be complete or to accurately reflect the intent of the Ohio General Assembly in enacting the sexual contact definition.

{¶ 14} In the context of R.C. 2907.01(B), this court defines “erogenous zone” to mean any part of the human anatomy that, when touched by another, is perceived by the offender, or by the victim, or by a reasonable person, as being sexually arousing or gratifying to either the offender or the victim.

{¶ 15} For instance, one with a fetish for navels or feet could be in violation of this statute for touching the navel or feet of another, not his or her spouse, for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification. Although the body parts, namely navel or feet, are not specifically listed in the “sexual contact” definition, if the state is able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that, in the mind of the offender, or in the mind of the victim, or in the mind of a reasonable person, those body parts are sensitive to sexual stimulation, or are apt to cause sexual arousal or gratification in either the offender or the victim, and if it was the purpose of the offender in the touching to obtain sexual arousal or gratification for himself or the victim, then the state has carried its burden of proof.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2002 Ohio 6002, 778 N.E.2d 676, 120 Ohio Misc. 2d 60, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-ackley-ohctcompllake-2002.