State v. Dowden

224 So. 3d 1061, 16 La.App. 3 Cir. 994, 2017 WL 3276442, 2017 La. App. LEXIS 1411
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 2, 2017
Docket16-994
StatusPublished

This text of 224 So. 3d 1061 (State v. Dowden) 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. Dowden, 224 So. 3d 1061, 16 La.App. 3 Cir. 994, 2017 WL 3276442, 2017 La. App. LEXIS 1411 (La. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

SAVOIE, Judge.

h Defendant, Timothy Eugene Dowden, Sr,, was charged by bill of information with indecent behavior with a juvenile, a violation of La.R.S. 14:81. A jury trial was held, and on March 16, 2016, Defendant was found guilty of the lesser included offense of attempted indecent behavior with a juvenile, a violation of La.R.S. 14:27 and 14:81.

On June 16, 2016, Defendant was sentenced to three years at hard labor. Defendant objected to the sentence and subsequently filed a motion to reconsider sentence which was denied on July 28, 2016. Defendant now appeals, assigning two errors.

FACTS

C.R.,1 the victim, was friends with Defendant’s daughter who were both fourteen years old at the time of the incident. The incident occurred on October 2, 2012, while C.R. was spending the weekend at their house. On Friday evening, Defendant’s daughter, C.R., Defendant, his girlfriend, and the girlfriend’s friend, Brandi O’Neill (Ms. O’Neill or female friend), along with some other people, were at Defendant’s home. The adults were drinking alcoholic beverages. At some point in the night, Defendant was going to drive Ms. O’Neill and her sons back to her apartment. Defendant’s daughter and/or Defendant asked C.R. to ride with Defendant in case he got lost because he and Ms. O’Neill had been drinking. C.R. sat in the middle of the truck cab, while Defendant drove and Ms. O’Neill rode on [¡.the passenger’s side. During the drive to Ms. O’Neill’s apartment, Defendant was masturbating while rubbing C.R.’s teg when he would shift gears.

On May 22, 2014, an arrest warrant was issued for Defendant.

At trial, Stuart Anthony, a deputy for the Sabine Parish Sheriffs Office, testified that he responded to a call received on October 3, 2012, regarding a “sexual battery involving a juvenile.” The officer recalled he arrived at the victim’s residence around 10:00 p.m. After getting permission from the victim’s mother to speak to the victim, the victim gave a written statement. The statement was admitted into evidence.2 After taking the statement and [1063]*1063interviewing C.R. and her mother, the officer prepared a report. At trial, the deputy testified that he noted, in his .report, C.R. stated every time Defendant would shift gears in the truck, he would; rub her leg. Additionally, C.R. talked about Defendant’s hand moving “up and down.” On cross-examination, the deputy acknowledged his report, based on C.R.’s interview, did not contain the words penis or masturbation. The' deputy referred the matter to a detective who referred the victim to Project Celebration, a non-profit organization which is part of the Child Advocacy Cénter.

Fred Denham, a former officer with the Sabine Parish Sheriffs Office,’‘testified at trial that he was involved with the investigation while employed by the sheriffs office. He recalled being present-when the victim was interviewed at Project Celebration on October 5, 2012. During the interview which was conducted by the Project Celebration counselor, the officer discovered there were three people in the vehicle when the alleged incident occurred: they included the Rvictim, Defendant, and a passenger. The officer admitted, to his knowledge, the passenger was not interviewed.

Jason Rivers, a former employee of the Sabine Parish Sheriffs. Office, testified that he interviewed Defendant in September 2013. He recalled the matter concerned Defendant having a sexual relationship with Defendant’s daughter: Also, Mr. Rivers questioned Defendant about exposing himself and masturbating in front of C.R. Defendant denied C.R. ever rode in his truck.

Brandy Goins, employed by Project Celebration, conducted a video-taped interview with the victim on October. 5, 2012. Law enforcement officers, Daryl Cassell and Fred Denham, and a co-worker at Project Celebration, Carrisa McCormick, observed the interview. Mrs. Goins testified that she informed C.R. there were “people that help children watching in another room.” Additionally, Mrs. Goins explained that C.R. knew the interview was being recorded. The DVD of the interview was admitted into evidence and played for the jury. .

A review of the .DVD indicated the victim explained that'"she. was staying with Defendant’s daughter and another friend at Defendant’s home for the weekend. On Friday, Defendant, his girlfriend, and another female friend were at the house. C.R., recalled Defendant’s, girlfriend had passed out from drinking. When Defendant. was about to take the female friend home, he asked C.R. several times to ride with them. C.R. rode in the. cab of the truck. She was in the middle, Defendant was driving, and the female friend was on the passenger’s side. The female friend’s children were in the-back of the truck. As they drove to the female friend’s home, C.R. recalled Defendant rubbed the shin of her leg from the knee.down every time he would shift gears. During the trip, she noticed .Defendant’s hand moving back and forth and saw his penis. She described Defendant as |4“jacking off.” C.R, stated Defendant was wearing khaki shorts and a t-shirt. Also, Defendant asked C.R. repeatedly if she was scared. C.R. stated she had her cell phone with her in the truck, and she was communicating with Defendant’s daughter.

During the interview, C.R. noted that they dropped the female friend and her children off at an apartment. C.R. stated that on the ride back to Defendant’s home, she moved over to the passenger’s side of the truck. She explained the gear shift was hurting her knee. C.R. further recalled, on the trip back to Defendant’s home, Defen[1064]*1064dant told her she was sexy for a fourteen year old and asked her if she wanted to go swimming.

When they arrived back at Defendant’s home, C.R. stated that she jumped out of the truck and told her Mends what had happened. Defendant’s girlfriend asked them several times what was going on, and they told her.

C.R. stated that Defendant did not bother her anymore that weekend, and she stayed at Defendant’s home until Sunday. C.R. was of the opinion Defendant may not recall what happened because he was drunk.

During C.R.’s testimony at trial, the State questioned her about what happened in the truck, and the following pertinent exchange occurred:

A. We were going down the road and he—every time he went to shift, he would rub down my leg and back up it and then he kept asking if I was scared and I didn’t know why. And then I looked over to my left and I see something that I shouldn’t have seen. It wasn’t supposed to happen.
Q. Okay. Well, tell me because I need you to—I need you to be and I know it’s hard, okay, but I need you to be specific about what you saw.
A. He was over there jacking off next to me while he was driving down the road.
|kQ. Now, did you see his hands?
A. Yes, ma’am.
Q. What were his hands doing?
A. Jacking off.
Q. What were his hands doing?
A. Going up and down.
Q. Okay. Were his hands touching something while they were going up and down?
A. Yes, ma’am.
Q. What was that?
A. His penis.
Q.

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Bluebook (online)
224 So. 3d 1061, 16 La.App. 3 Cir. 994, 2017 WL 3276442, 2017 La. App. LEXIS 1411, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-dowden-lactapp-2017.