State v. Judge

758 So. 2d 313, 2000 WL 233374
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 1, 2000
Docket99-1109
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 758 So. 2d 313 (State v. Judge) 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. Judge, 758 So. 2d 313, 2000 WL 233374 (La. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

758 So.2d 313 (2000)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Henry Nathan JUDGE.

No. 99-1109.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

March 1, 2000.

*314 Edward K. Bauman, Lake Charles, LA, Counsel for Defendant.

Lori A. Landry, New Iberia, LA, Assistant District Attorney, for State.

Court composed of Judge NED E. DOUCET, Jr., Chief Judge, BILLIE C. WOODARD and MICHAEL G. SULLIVAN, Judges.

DOUCET, Chief Judge.

The Defendant, Henry Nathan Judge, appeals his conviction for sexual battery.

*315 The seventeen-year-old victim, L.L. alleges that on the morning of July 11, 1998, while she was asleep in her mother's bed, the Defendant, her great uncle, entered the room, kissed her, and without her consent, touched various parts of her body, including her vagina.

On October 1, 1998, the Defendant was charged by bill of information with sexual battery, a violation of La.R.S. 14:43.1. The Defendant was tried by a jury on January 11 and 12, 1999 and found guilty as charged. The judge ordered a pre-sentence investigation report be prepared. On February 23, 1999, the Defendant was sentenced to eight years at hard labor without the benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. He now appeals.

SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

The Defendant first contends that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the Defendant intentionally committed a sexual battery on L.L. La.R.S. 14:43.1 sets out the elements of the crime of sexual battery, as follows:

A. Sexual battery is the intentional engaging in any of the following acts with another person, who is not the spouse of the offender, where the offender acts without the consent of the victim., or where the other person has not yet attained fifteen years of age and is at least three years younger than the offender:
(1) The touching of the anus or genitals of the victim by the offender using any instrumentality or any part of the body of the offender;....
(2) The touching of the anus or genitals of the offender by the victim using any instrumentality or any part of the body of the victim.

The record establishes that L.L. was seventeen years old at the time of the alleged offense and that Judge was thirty-six years old. Further, testimony was adduced as to the events which led to the charge.

In July of 1998, L.L. was living with her mother in New Iberia, Louisiana. L.L. initially affirmed that the Defendant was living with them, but she later testified that he visited frequently, but would not spend the night. One morning in July of 1998, while her mother was gone from the home, L.L. was asleep in her mother's bed when she felt the Defendant kissing her face. She said she turned over and "heard him say something about you're turning your head now" and he continued to kiss her. According to L.L., the Defendant closed the door, got on top of her, kissed her face again and then touched her vagina and her stomach with his hand. L.L. testified she was asleep during this episode, but woke up when she felt the Defendant "touching [her] down there." At that point, she saw his face and tried to jump out of the bed. The Defendant got out of the bed and blocked the door, asking L.L. not to tell anyone what had happened. L.L. then attempted to get out on the other side, but she passed out. According to L.L., the Defendant picked her up, put her in the bed and got on top of her again. She testified that she "felt him get off of me because that's when I got up and I felt my head because it was hurting; I had knot." She then heard his belt buckle rattle and felt his "lower skin on [her] lower skin." She later explained that she felt his legs on her. At this point, L.L. passed out again and although not awake, she felt him touching her between her legs. The Defendant proceeded to feel her breasts. When L.L. got up, she felt that the Defendant had ejaculated on her right leg. She then ran to the bathroom. When asked what she did in the bathroom, L.L. responded, "[c]rying, throw up, and wash myself off." Hearing the Defendant at the bathroom door, she broke a mirror and a trash can. When she heard his voice a second time, she threw up again. During later testimony, L.L. confirmed that the Defendant, without her consent, touched her vagina twice with his hand.

After leaving the bathroom, L.L. ran to her sister's room and told her what happened. *316 When asked what happened next, L.L. responded, "as I remember he—he asked my sister what was wrong with me; and we went outside to calm down." Approximately ten minutes later, while the Defendant was still at the house, L.L.'s mother returned home and was told what had happened. L.L.'s sister called the police. According to L.L., during the attack, she screamed the Defendant's name, thinking someone would wake up, but no one did.

L.L. was questioned about her prior relationship with her uncle. She testified that they had "an uncle and niece type relationship like a friend." In the past, the Defendant had complimented her about how she was growing up and had kissed her on the face. This made L.L. a little uncomfortable, so she asked her mother to ask him to stop; however, she affirmed that the Defendant never said anything to make her think he would molest her.

On appeal, the Defendant questions the credibility of L.L.'s testimony since she admits she was at least partly asleep or unconscious during some of the time the assault was allegedly occurring. He also asserts that it is unlikely that the three other occupants of the house (L.L.'s sister, brother and his friend) could have remained asleep if L.L. was in fact shouting and throwing things as she alleges, especially in light of the testimony of Detective Armatta that the house was quite small and L.L.'s sister's bedroom was only about four or five feet from the one where the alleged assault occurred.

On cross-examination, L.L. was questioned extensively about the details of the incident in question. She acknowledged that in her prior statement, she said she was in a deep sleep when her uncle started kissing her. She said she was "in between there" and was asleep but could not get up when he was kissing her. Because she had stayed up until 2:00 or 3:00 a.m., she was really tired. According to L.L., she woke up when she turned over. When initially asked how she knew it was the Defendant kissing her, L.L. said, "[b]ecause he was only the male to my house and he's the only one kisses me in my face." Defense counsel asked L.L. if it could have been her brother or his friend, she explained it would not be them because they do not go into her mother's room when she is not home. When asked how she knew it was the Defendant if she was sleeping, L.L. said she heard his voice when he said, "Oh, you're turning over." L.L. was questioned extensively about her state of awareness during the episode with her uncle and about her prior statement to Detective Armatta, but affirmed that she remembered the events accurately in spite of her being partially asleep or unconscious at the time they occurred. Further, she states that she woke up during the assault and was then able to get away. L.L.'s mother testified that it did not surprise her that no one in the house was woken up by noise made by L.L. because all her children are very heavy sleepers.

The standard of review to uphold a conviction is whether or not, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, a rational trier of fact could conclude that the state proved the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
758 So. 2d 313, 2000 WL 233374, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-judge-lactapp-2000.