State v. Johnson

962 So. 2d 1126, 2007 WL 2317797
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided August 15, 2007·No. 42,323-KA·Published·Cited by 32 cases

Opinion

962 So.2d 1126 (2007)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee
v.
David Earl JOHNSON, Appellant.

No. 42,323-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

August 15, 2007.

*1128 Louisiana Appellate Project, by Sherry Watters, New Orleans, for Appellant.

Paul J. Carmouche, District Attorney, Dhu Thompson, Catherine M. Estopinal, Assistant District Attorneys, for Appellee.

Before BROWN, CARAWAY and MOORE, JJ.

MOORE, J.

The defendant, David Earl Johnson, was convicted as charged of three counts of molestation of a juvenile. He was adjudicated a third felony habitual offender on the first count and sentenced to 30 years on count one and 15 years on counts two and three, imposed consecutively and without benefits. The defendant now appeals. We affirm the defendant's convictions and sentences; however, we delete those portions of the sentences which deny parole.

FACTS

The defendant, a resident of Shreveport born in 1967[1], had a relationship with a woman, MJD, from the late 1980's until about 1996. MJD had two daughters before she met the defendant, LD1, born on May 16, 1983 and JD, born on July 27, 1985. The defendant and MJD had three children together. Two of the children were boys, but there was one daughter, LD2, born on August 14, 1990.

In 1996, the Office of Community Services ("OCS") received a report that the defendant was molesting one or more of these children. LD1 confirmed to an OCS worker, Mardie Fisher Griffin, that Johnson had touched her vaginal area several years prior to 1996, that knowledge of this incident had caused MJD to kick the defendant out of the house, but that MJD had allowed the defendant to return after a month.

In a separate interview by Griffin, the defendant admitted "rub[bing] his hand on LD1's crotch" twice about two and one-half years prior to the interview, and he also admitted that it would be in the children's best interest if he were not to be left unattended with the children.

The matter was not pursued criminally at that time. In 2000, authorities received a report that Johnson had molested a child named LW. LW told police that Johnson had put his finger in her vagina, but police were later unable to locate LW (who moved out of state) or the defendant.

In 2001, authorities received another report that Johnson was molesting one or more of the children. The police report indicates that one of the victims' brothers told police that he had seen Johnson "hunching" his sisters in December 2000. Physical examinations of LD2 and another child, "P", revealed normal results. MJD apparently opted not to pursue the matter further at that time.

In 2002, the children were sent to live with a maternal aunt away from their father and mother. In January 2002, the OCS interviewed the entire family and through interviews confirmed that Johnson had molested JD, LD1 and LD2. LD2 was interviewed at the Gingerbread House, a facility for conducting forensic interviews with child victims; LD1 and JD were interviewed at home. The interviews were conducted in the presence of Shreveport Police Department ("SPD") Corporal Rita Caldwell. Then 11-year-old LD2 said in her interview that Johnson had "put hair grease on her private . . . [and] put his privates in her." JD said that the defendant would touch her breasts and her privates when she was in bed. LD1 said that the defendant would come into the room *1129 where she and JD slept and touch their privates. LD1 also said that when she reached age 10, the defendant commenced having sex with her by "actually putting his private in my private." Physical examinations revealed no signs of child abuse.

Shreveport police interviewed the defendant on February 1, 2002. Corporal Caldwell was one of the interviewers. The defendant initially denied any inappropriate conduct with the children. However, after continued questioning, the defendant admitted:

-Rubbing on then nine-year-old LD1's "booty" and achieving an erection;
-Licking then twelve-year-old LD1's vagina;
-Attempting but failing to put his penis in then thirteen-year-old LD1's vagina, and then masturbating to ejaculation;
-Rubbing on JD's breasts.

The defendant denied any improper contact with LD2, his biological daughter. He admitted to touching another child, LW, between her legs.

On March 25, 2002, the state charged Johnson with four counts of molestation of a juvenile citing LW, LD2, JD and LD1 as the victims. Each charge in the bill of information alleged that the defendant committed the crime while he had control or supervision over the child. The charge pertaining to LW was later dropped and the matter went to jury trial on the charges relating to the other three children.

LD2, 15 years old at the time of trial, lived with the defendant and his wife for a time when she was about 10 years old. LD2 said that when she lived with the defendant and his wife, she had to mind them. She said that when she was around 10 years old, the defendant raped her by "put[ting] his private part inside my private part." She said that the defendant put hair "grease" on her private part and put his private part into hers; LD2 said that this "hurted . . . bad, very." She said this happened more than three times. She said that she was about 11 years old when she made her first report of the incident. She told her brother, who then told her older sister who called the police.

LD1, 22 years old at the time of trial, testified that the defendant started touching her on her vagina and breasts when she was about 7 or 8 years old. She said that this happened about twice a week, and that she did not report this until she was 10 or 11 years old because she was frightened. She said that the touching escalated into sexual intercourse by the time she was 13 years old and that this continued when she was 14 years old. LD1 said that when she lived with the defendant, the defendant was able to punish her. She also testified that she walked into the defendant's room and saw the defendant "on top of" her sister JD when JD was about 7 or 8 years old.

JD, 20 years old at the time of trial, testified that when she was 9 or 10 years old, the defendant put his hand under her gown and felt her breasts. She testified that this occurred until she was about 11 or 12 years old, but that the defendant never touched her anywhere else. JD testified that when she lived with the defendant, she looked to him as her stepfather and that he could tell her what she had to do and punish her when she had done wrong.

Mardie Griffin, the OCS worker, testified that LD1 had told her in 1996 that the defendant had touched her (LD1) vaginal area (through her clothes) twice about two years previously. Ms. Griffin also testified that the defendant told her that he had touched LD1 in her vaginal area on at least two occasions about two years prior to the interview.

*1130 Dr. Jennifer Rodriguez, a pediatrician, testified that she had performed two physical examinations of LD2 when the child was 11 years old. Both examinations revealed no sign of abuse, although the doctor explained that the genital area normally heals very quickly if injured. Dr. Ann Springer, a pediatrician and expert in child abuse matters, also testified that it is normal to have no positive physical findings in child abuse cases because of the rapid healing of the tissues involved.

SPD Corporal Rita Caldwell testified about her 2002 interviews with the children and with the defendant.

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State v. Johnson, 962 So. 2d 1126, 2007 WL 2317797 (La. Ct. App. 2007).

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