State v. J.T.S.

865 So. 2d 1032
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided February 4, 2004·No. No. 03-1059·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

h SULLIVAN, Judge.

J.T.S. was charged by bill of information with one count of aggravated oral sexual battery, a violation of La.R.S. 14:43.4, one count of aggravated incest, a violation of La.R.S. 14:78.1, and one count of molestation of a juvenile, a violation of La.R.S. 14:81.2. A jury convicted him of attempted oral sexual battery and aggravated incest and acquitted him on the molestation of a juvenile charge. The trial court sentenced Defendant to five years at hard labor without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence on the conviction for attempted oral sexual battery, to twelve years at hard labor, six years suspended, on the conviction for aggravated incest, and to five years active probation following his release from incarceration. The trial court ordered that the sentences be served concurrently and fined Defendant one thousand dollars, plus court costs.

On May 9, 2003, Defendant filed a motion to reconsider his sentences, which was denied. Defendant appeals his convictions. In brief prepared by defense counsel, Defendant argues the evidence was insufficient to convict him. Defendant also filed a pro se brief in which he assigns as error the sufficiency of the evidence, the refusal of the trial court to grant a continuance of the trial, and the terms of his sentences.

Facts

The charges against Defendant arise from reports by his daughter, K.S., that he sexually abused her from April 1990 until February 1998. At the time of trial, K.S. was seventeen years old. She testified that her father began molesting her when she was five years old and stopped when she was twelve years old when she was taken out of the family home by the authorities. She testified that, when she was five, her father began to fondle her breasts and genitalia and to digitally penetrate her. She testified that he did this often but there was no pattern to the occurrences. She also |2testified that the level of abuse intensified as she grew older: he began forcing her to perform oral sex acts on him; he performed oral sex acts on her; and he also attempted to engage in intercourse with her.

K.S. testified that she told her mother that her father was touching her when she was five years old, but her mother did nothing. Her mother admitted this. K.S. also told her maternal aunt and maternal grandmother about the sexual abuse when she was approximately nine years old. Both women corroborated this testimony and testified that they threatened to report Defendant if he did not stop abusing K.S.

Shortly before the authorities were notified of this abuse, an incident occurred which triggered the report of abuse to the authorities. K.S. testified that while she and her older brother were watching television, her father lay down next to her on the sofa, covered them with a blanket, and, unbeknownst to her brother, molested her [1035] in his presence. After this incident, K.S. reported the abuse again to her grandmother. Again, her grandmother did nothing, so she reported it to her school friend who went with her to the school counselor. In turn, the school counselor reported the abuse to the proper authorities. Investigation of KS.’s claims resulted in this prosecution.

Errors Patent

In accordance with La.Code Crim.P. art. 920, all appeals are reviewed for errors patent on the face of the record. Our review of the record revealed two errors patent with Defendant’s sentence for aggravated incest.

At the request of the State, the trial court ordered Defendant to pay restitution for the cost of transferring witnesses. The trial court did not state its authority for imposing restitution or set the amount of restitution. Unable to find specific statutory or jurisprudential authority for this condition of probation, we first consider whether | sit was authorized. To begin, we are mindful of the well-established tenet of statutory construction that criminal statutes are subject to strict construction under the rule of lenity. State v. Carr, 99-2209 (La.5/26/00), 761 So.2d 1271.

Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure article 895 provides for the imposition of restitution as a condition of probation. Under this article, restitution is discretionary with the trial court. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure article 895(A)(7) provides that restitution is to be paid to the “aggrieved party for damage or loss caused by [the defendant’s] offense.” Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure article 895.1 also provides for restitution. Restitution is mandatory under this provision “where the victim or his family has suffered any direct loss of actual cash, any monetary loss pursuant to damage to or loss of property, or medical expense.” La. Code Crim.P. art. 895.1. The payment of money to various state agencies and programs as a condition of probation is also specifically provided for in Article 895.1; however, the State is not one of the programs specifically identified in subpart B of the provision.

Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1844(M) also authorizes the imposition of restitution on a defendant on probation. While it provides for the imposition of restitution as a condition of probation or parole, nothing in the statute, which is entitled “Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses,” indicates that the State is a proper party for restitution. Subpart M of this provision is entitled “Victims’ Rights” and refers to the “appropriate party;” however, a reading of the entire provision gives no indication that the State is an “appropriate party” thereunder.

We have not found any case on point, but State v. Sanderson, 97-1281 (La.App. 3 Cir. 5/13/98), 715 So.2d 483, is similar. In Sanderson, the trial court | ¿awarded restitution to the State for the foster care of a child born as a result of the defendant’s criminal offense of carnal knowledge of a juvenile. Articles 895 and 895.1 were discussed, and this court found that the defendant could not be ordered to make restitution to the State, specifically noting that the State is not listed in Article 895.1. We find implicit in this holding the conclusion that the State was not an “aggrieved party” under La.Code Crim.P. art. 895(A)(7) and restitution was not appropriate under that provision either.

We find that the restitution awarded in the present case is not authorized by La. Code Crim.P. art. 895, La.Code Crim.P. art. 895.1 or La.R.S. 46:1844(M) and vacate that portion of Defendant’s sentence.

The trial court also ordered Defendant to pay a $1,000.00 fine plus court [1036] costs as a condition of probation “according to a schedule to be worked out by the Office of Probation and Parole.” It was error for the trial court not to establish a payment plan for the fine and costs Defendant was ordered to pay. See State v. Fontenot, 01-540 (La.App. 3 Cir. 11/7/01), 799 So.2d 1255 and State v. Reynolds, 99-1847 (La.App. 3 Cir. 6/7/00), 772 So.2d 128. Accordingly, this matter is remanded to the trial court for resentencing, and the trial court is instructed to establish a payment plan for the fine and costs Defendant was ordered to pay as a condition of his probation.

Sufficiency of the Evidence

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State v. J.T.S., 865 So. 2d 1032 (La. Ct. App. 2004).

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