State v. Conley

938 S.W.2d 614, 1997 Mo. App. LEXIS 110, 1997 WL 29207
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 28, 1997
DocketNo. 69457
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 938 S.W.2d 614 (State v. Conley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Conley, 938 S.W.2d 614, 1997 Mo. App. LEXIS 110, 1997 WL 29207 (Mo. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Cedric Conley (“defendant”) was convicted by a jury of six counts of deviate sexual assault in the first degree, § 566.070, RSMo 1994 1, three counts of deviate sexual assault in the second degree, § 566.80, one count of sexual abuse in the first degree, § 566.100, and one count of attempt to commit the offense of sexual abuse in the first degree, § 564.011. In October 1990, two boys implicated defendant with complaints of abuse that occurred in the mid 1980s, some before April 11, 1984. Defendant was sentenced to consecutive prison terms totaling thirty-five years, six months, and thirty days. Defendant appeals the judgments.

Defendant raises five points of error. In his first two points, he contends that the trial court erred in admitting certain evidence which he claims was inadmissible evidence of uncharged crimes and which was barred by § 556.036, RSMo 1978 Supp. In his third point, defendant claims the trial court abused its discretion in sending four exhibits to the jury during its deliberations because the exhibits were impermissible evidence of uncharged and acquitted crimes. In his fourth point, defendant argues the court abused its discretion in prohibiting him from asking a witness about the amount of damages the witness was seeking in a related civil lawsuit. In his last point, defendant contends the trial court erred in prohibiting him from asking a witness whether he had been expelled from high school for using drugs. We reverse and remand for a new trial.

BACKGROUND

We review the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdicts and the factual issues. Defendant worked as a child care counselor for approximately thirteen years. Defendant worked at General Protestant Children’s Home (“General Protestant”), a residential group home for children, from November of 1983 until April 1986. He later worked as a child counselor at St. Vincent’s Children’s Home (StVmcent’s) from 1987 until October 1990.

On October 19, 1990, two boys, C.C. and S.E. went to the police station and spoke with Detective Randall Combs. Both boys told Detective Combs that defendant had sexually abused them while they resided at General Protestant during the mid 1980’s. The police asked C.C. to call the defendant in an attempt to elicit incriminating statements while the telephone call was audiotaped.

During the phone conversation, C.C. told defendant that he was concerned about getting AIDS from the sexual conduct that occurred between defendant and himself. Defendant told C.C. not to worry because he had been tested for those types of diseases. C.C. told defendant that he felt that he had been violated by him. C.C. then asked defendant to promise to never to do what he did to him to any other child. Defendant responded that he had been careful since he left General Protestant about what “lines he crossed” with other children. C.C. asked defendant whether he had ever had sex with any other kids other than C.C. Defendant said he “never did anything at all even closely related to what happened to us with any other person in my life.”

After the audiotaped phone call, Detective Combs went to St. Vincent’s where defendant was then working and informed him of C.C.’s and S.E.’s allegations of sexual abuse. Detective Combs asked defendant to accompany him to the police station to discuss the boy’s charges. Defendant was explained his Miranda rights, and he signed a form waiving [616]*616his rights. Detective Combs questioned defendant regarding the allegations of sexual abuse. Defendant told Detective Combs that he had oral sex with C.C. on several occasions and had masturbated S.E. at least once. Detective Combs asked defendant whether he should speak to any other children regarding sexual abuse. Defendant told Detective Combs to speak with P.M., E.B., M.J., and C.G. After three hours of questioning, Detective Combs requested that defendant make a tape-recorded statement regarding the boy’s allegations and the names of the other boys defendant told Detective Combs to talk to.

Following the interview, defendant was arrested and booked. After defendant’s arrest, the police interviewed approximately thirty children from General Protestant and St. Vincent’s regarding possible sexual abuse by defendant. In October and November 1990, defendant was charged by three indictments with fifty-one counts involving sexual abuse of young males. The fifty-one counts were later divided and consolidated into four groups for purposes of trial.2

In April 1992, trial commenced on the fourth group. The counts in this group involved charges of alleged sexual abuse that occurred at St. Vincent’s. Defendant was convicted of four counts of sodomy, one count of attempted sodomy and three counts of sexual abuse in the first degree.

On appeal, the Missouri Supreme Court reversed the judgment and remanded for a new trial. State v. Conley, 873 S.W.2d 233 (Mo. banc 1994). The court held that the admission of evidence of acts of sexual abuse which were not the subject of the trial was prejudicial error.

For purposes of his second trial, defendant was charged with only thirty-five of the original fifty-one counts. The thirty-five counts involved 14 alleged victims who resided at either General Protestant or St. Vincent’s during the 1980’s.

The second trial commenced on September 5, 1995, in St. Louis County Circuit Court. Ten boys who had allegedly been sexually abused by defendant testified for the State. Detective Combs also testified on behalf of the State.

C.C., 23 years old at the time of the trial, testified that he moved to General Protestant at the age of twelve. C.C. lived at General Protestant from July 25, 1982 to August 18, 1986. After C.C. had been living at General Protestant for about one year, defendant began working there as a house parent. C.C. testified that on defendant’s first night on the job, defendant came to his room and began rubbing C.C.’s stomach. Following this incident, C.C. testified that he and defendant engaged in oral sex and masturbation over a period of three months.

C.C. testified that he later reported the abuse to a supervisor at General Protestant. C.C. further testified that two years later he and defendant signed a letter describing their sexual activities. In the letter, defendant and C.C. admitted that they had only kissed on the lips and french kissed. This letter was admitted into evidence as State’s Exhibit 2 over defendant’s objection.

At the close of State’s evidence, defendant filed a Motion for Judgment of Acquittal renewing his objection that the counts related to C.C. were barred by the applicable statute of limitations. The trial court granted defendant’s motion.

S.E., 26 years old at the time of the trial, began living at General Protestant in 1983 at the age of 14. S.E. testified that he lived at General Protestant approximately one year before defendant began working there. S.E. testified that defendant would show him pornographic magazines and videos. According to S.E., defendant once asked him to suck his penis but S.E. refused. On another occasion, S.E. said that defendant asked him to masturbate while watching a pornographic movie. S.E. testified that defendant grabbed his penis while he masturbated. Based upon this evidence, defendant was convicted of one count of deviate sexual assault in the first [617]*617degree and one count of deviate sexual assault in the second degree.

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Bluebook (online)
938 S.W.2d 614, 1997 Mo. App. LEXIS 110, 1997 WL 29207, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-conley-moctapp-1997.