State v. Burger

531 So. 2d 1163, 1988 WL 94923
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 16, 1988
DocketKA 9006
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 531 So. 2d 1163 (State v. Burger) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Burger, 531 So. 2d 1163, 1988 WL 94923 (La. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinion

531 So.2d 1163 (1988)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Brett BURGER.

No. KA 9006.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

September 16, 1988.

*1164 Harry F. Connick, Dist. Atty., Sandra Pettle, Asst. Dist. Atty., New Orleans, for State.

Sherry Watters, Orleans Indigent Defender Program, New Orleans, for defendant.

Before GULOTTA, C.J., and WILLIAMS and ARMSTRONG, JJ.

ARMSTRONG, Judge.

Defendant, Brett Burger, was charged with and convicted of forcible rape, a violation of La.R.S. 14:42.1. Because he had previously been convicted of two felony offenses, he was billed as a habitual offender under La.R.S. 15:529.1 and sentenced to serve forty years at hard labor. Defendant now appeals his conviction.

The alleged rape occurred in the early morning hours of July 4, 1986 near the Melpomene Housing Project. Defendant and the victim, both residents of the project, began seeing each other approximately six weeks before the incident in question. The victim admitted that she and the defendant "went out" on two occasions, engaging in sexual intercourse each time. The two also spent time with one another, often talking together on the third floor balcony of their building. The victim testified that she ended her relationship with the defendant approximately one and a half weeks before the alleged rape. She claimed that during this period she only saw the defendant out on the balcony but did not "go out with him."

On the evening of July 3, 1986, about 9:30 p.m., she and a friend went to a bar in Jefferson Parish where she drank four beers and took one puff from a marijuana cigarette. The two women left the bar around 3:00 a.m. and the victim was dropped off at her project building. When she got to the third floor she saw the defendant who asked her to walk to the end of the balcony with him. She declined but he pushed her towards the balcony and demanded that she walk with him to a neighborhood liquor store. She declined but he reiterated his demand and pushed her. The victim stated that she was frightened and panicked. She walked with him to the liquor store where he purchased a beer.

They began walking back towards the project when, he first requested, then ordered, that she sit down on the front steps of a residence. As they sat on the steps the defendant told her that he wanted to make love to her. She did not wish to do so, and when he stood up she thought he *1165 was going to let her go home. Instead he struck her in the face, in her left eye. She began crying, and after telling her to shut up, he again stated that he wanted to make love to her. She responded no and he said, "yes you is." She again said no but he demanded that she stand up. She refused, causing him to yell "get up." She finally stood up and he pushed her, directing her to proceed to the rear of the residence. She refused and he continued to push her towards the backyard. She told him she had to use the bathroom and he said, "you're going to use that bathroom in the back." When they got to the rear of the residence he ordered her to "use the bathroom right here." She did so, and when she began to raise her panties and pants, he pushed her. She grabbed onto something to keep from falling but he pushed her down onto her stomach and proceeded to have anal and vaginal intercourse with her. He pressed on her back and she cried and hollered. She kept telling him to stop, that it hurt. He finally stopped and ordered her to get up. The victim testified that the attack lasted between thirty and sixty minutes.

The defendant then made her walk to three bars, two of which turned out to be closed. He intended to make the victim prostitute herself to earn some money. As they began walking he was holding her from behind. She was scared, hurt and was crying. She said she didn't know what to do. He told her to stop crying and shut up. She wouldn't and he hit her in her right eye. The first bar they arrived at was closed. At the second they entered and the defendant announced that the victim was for sale for sexual purposes. Someone told them to get out and they walked a little further down the street. He then told her to go into a third bar and ask for a man to "bring you to a motel." Before she went he stated that he didn't like the way she was walking and hit her in the eye. The third bar was also closed and they began walking towards the bus station where he wanted her to prostitute herself to a cab driver. It was dawn about this time. Inside the bus station defendant went to the restroom. Before he did he threatened to kill the victim if she left and told her that he had someone watching her. After he returned the victim feigned nausea three times, going into the women's restroom each time for up to ten minutes. They finally left the bus station about 7:00 a.m. and walked back to the project. In the project the victim walked away from the defendant back to her apartment where she telephoned the police.

The police arrived about 7:30 a.m. to speak with the victim. Detective Mason Spong accompanied the victim to the scene of the alleged crime. Detective Spong testified that the victim was in pain and had a difficult time walking. He recalled that she could not sit in a normal position but had to lean from side to side. Another officer also testified that the victim had a hard time walking and walked as if she were in extreme pain. Detective Spong testified that he interviewed occupants of the residence where the attack allegedly occurred but none of them recalled hearing anyone screaming in the backyard that night. Detective Spong returned to the victim's apartment to get some further information before transporting her to Charity Hospital. While there he knocked on the door of defendant's mother's apartment which was next to the apartment in which the victim was living. Defendant and his mother came to the door, and the victim, who was standing near the officer, identified the defendant as the man who raped her.

At Charity Hospital the victim was examined by Dr. Sheldon Latos who testified that she had a small laceration on her lip which was consistent with a blow to the face. He found no other external signs of injury such as bruising or lacerations to the face or upper body. A genital-rectal exam revealed three superficial tears in the rectal area and one at the vaginal opening. The doctor defined a superficial tear as one not bleeding and not requiring suturing or other medical care. He also noted that the victim's cervix was reddened and accompanied by a small abrasion. All of these findings, Dr. Latos confirmed, were consistent with a rape. He stated that the *1166 lacerations and their locations were textbook examples of results of forced sexual activity or very physical sexual activity. He admitted, however, that one cause of a reddened cervix is gonorrhea and that the victim had an active case of gonorrhea at the time of the examination. Dr. Latos also testified that roughly thirty-three percent of the time, consensual anal sex without the use of a lubricant can result in lacerations such as those found in the victim's anal area.

Dr. Latos found seminal secretions in the victim's vagina. Further tests showed that there had been sexual activity within the previous twenty-four hours, and Dr. Latos opined, it had most likely occurred recently. Dr. Lato's examination was performed around noon on July 4th and he stated that his findings were consistent with a rape having occurred between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. that morning.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
531 So. 2d 1163, 1988 WL 94923, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-burger-lactapp-1988.