State v. Kiger

128 So. 3d 552, 13 La.App. 5 Cir. 69, 2013 WL 5850857, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 2201
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 30, 2013
DocketNo. 13-KA-69
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 128 So. 3d 552 (State v. Kiger) 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. Kiger, 128 So. 3d 552, 13 La.App. 5 Cir. 69, 2013 WL 5850857, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 2201 (La. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

MARC E. JOHNSON, Judge.

12Pefendant, Jason M. Kiger, appeals his conviction of aggravated rape in violation of La. R.S. 14:42 and his sentence of life imprisonment without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence from the 24th Judicial District Court, Division “D”. For the following reasons, we affirm Defendant’s conviction and sentence and remand the matter to the trial court with instructions.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On October 13, 2011, the Jefferson Parish Grand Jury returned a true bill of information charging Defendant with one count of aggravated rape, a violation of La. R.S. 14:42. Defendant was arraigned on October 14, 2011, and pleaded not guilty. Defendant filed various omnibus motions, including a Motion to Suppress Statement, which was denied by the trial court on August 16, 2012.1 Defendant’s trial commenced on October 23, 2012.

liiDuring trial, the victim, J.L.,2 testified that she grew up with Defendant in Mar-rero and had a “horrible” relationship with him when she was very young. When J.L. was eight years old, Defendant began to touch her vagina and make her touch his penis, and he would also fondle her breasts. These activities took place in Defendant’s bedroom on occasions when her parents were out of town. Defendant told J.L. not to say anything because if her parents found out they would get into trouble, and “everybody would go to jail.” Defendant watched her and her brother when her parents were not in the house.

J.L. recounted how Defendant progressed from fondling her to forcing her to perform oral sex upon him until he ejaculated. Defendant forced J.L. to perform oral sex upon him for approximately one year.3 When J.L. asked Defendant why [554]*554he was doing this, Defendant replied that “it’s normal.” J.L. did not tell anyone about what was being done to her by Defendant.

After approximately one year, Defendant’s abuse of J.L. further escalated into sexual intercourse. J.L. testified that Defendant made her tell her parents that she was afraid to sleep in her own room; subsequently, she slept in Defendant’s bed, where the first rape occurred. She said that it hurt and that she had never previously had sexual intercourse. Defendant continued to have sexual intercourse with J.L. from the time she was eight until she was 12 years old and in the seventh grade. During this time frame, she never told anyone about the sexual abuse.

As she got older, J.L. attempted to resist Defendant. On one occasion, she locked herself in her bedroom, and Defendant punched a hole through the door while attempting to get into the room. Defendant told J.L.’s parents that the hole |4in the door was created when he fell and hit his head. Defendant changed his residence not too long after J.L. turned 12. Defendant is approximately eight years older than J.L.

Many years later, J.L. first revealed what Defendant had done to her to a male relative, J.K. While at a family event, J.K. confided in J.L. that he had been molested by Defendant as a child. J.L. then told J.K. that she had been sexually abused by him as well. J.L. and J.K. agreed to share information with their respective spouses. For two to three years after their initial conversation, J.L. and J.K. were unsure about whether they should involve the police.

Near the end of May 2011, J.L. had a conversation with Defendant’s sister-in-law, K.M., wherein K.M. disclosed that she was uncomfortable that Defendant took showers with her four-year-old niece.4 J.L. immediately left to call J.K. to let him know that she was going to tell her parents about what Defendant had done to them. After speaking with her parents and Defendant’s wife, J.L. went to a police station on the West Bank of Jefferson Parish to file a complaint. She was later contacted by Detective Fernandez and gave an interview regarding Defendant.

On cross-examination, J.L. stated that Detective Fernandez’s report would have been inaccurate if it said that J.K. did not know about the abuse of J.L. until a few days prior to when the report was made. J.L. told Detective Fernandez that that the incidents occurred from the time that she was eight to eleven years old, and Defendant was 16 to 19 years old. She told Detective Fernandez that Defendant would make her hurry and clean up upon “completion of an activity.” J.L.’s grandmother did not live with her family until she was in high school, but ^occasionally her grandmother was in the home when Defendant sexually abused her. J.L. testified that it hurt the first time that Defendant fully penetrated her vaginally, and she cried a lot. After Defendant had sex with her, he would make her clean herself in a shower attached to the bedroom. Defendant forced her to remove her clothing while she was in his room; thus, she was not aware that any of her clothes had ever become stained with either blood or semen.

After becoming an adult and having children, J.L. allowed Defendant to pick up [555]*555her minor children from school, but only if he was accompanied by his wife. At one point in time, J.L., her husband, Defendant and his wife shared residence of a home that had been subdivided. J.L. saw and spoke with Defendant at various family gatherings over the years.

On redirect examination, J.L. testified that Defendant used a condom when he vaginally penetrated her. With respect to the times that Defendant interacted with J.L.’s own children, J.L. stated that she taught her children the difference between a “good touch” and a “bad touch,” as well as how to protect themselves from abuse.

The second witness to take the stand was J.K. J.K. testified that Defendant is approximately 5½ years older than he is. On September 26, 2008, J.K. was celebrating his upcoming marriage and had completed a church-sponsored marriage preparation class for couples. Part of the class required participants to share their “deepest, darkest secret” with the woman they were going to marry. That day, J.K. told his fiancée that Defendant had molested him when he was between the ages of five and eight years old. Later that night, J.K. told J.L. what Defendant had done to him. In turn, J.L. told J.K. what Defendant had done to her, though not in great detail at that time.

1 fiJ.K. testified that the first time Defendant abused him was between the ages of five and eight. Defendant had a pop-up tent set up in his room, and had obtained pornographic magazines. Defendant invited J.K. into the tent and showed him the pornographic materials. As J.K. became aroused, Defendant performed oral sex upon him while masturbating. J.K. stopped Defendant from continuing the act. J.K. never performed oral sex upon Defendant, even though he was asked to do so. J.K. testified that there were two incidents he could recall when this type of behavior occurred. J.K. attempted to tell his mother about the incidents but became afraid. He also told his father about the incidents. J.K. was not aware of any repercussions against Defendant other than he had to get rid of the pornographic magazines. After J.K. and J.L. exchanged information about their abuse at the hands of Defendant, the only plan was to inform their parents, not call the police.

On cross-examination, J.K. testified that Defendant was roughly between 11 to 14 years old when Defendant performed oral sex on him. Approximately four to five years had passed between the time of his conversation with J.L. about the abuse by Defendant and the time that he spoke to police.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
128 So. 3d 552, 13 La.App. 5 Cir. 69, 2013 WL 5850857, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 2201, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-kiger-lactapp-2013.