State v. Maggette

2016 Ohio 5554
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 29, 2016
Docket13-16-06
StatusPublished
Cited by89 cases

This text of 2016 Ohio 5554 (State v. Maggette) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Maggette, 2016 Ohio 5554 (Ohio Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Maggette, 2016-Ohio-5554.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT SENECA COUNTY

STATE OF OHIO,

PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, CASE NO. 13-16-06

v.

DEANDRE T. MAGGETTE, OPINION

DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.

Appeal from Seneca County Common Pleas Court Trial Court No. 15-CR-0236

Judgment Affirmed

Date of Decision: August 29, 2016

APPEARANCES:

James W. Fruth for Appellant

Angela M. Boes for Appellee Case No. 13-16-06

SHAW, P.J.

{¶1} Defendant-appellant, Deandre T. Maggette (“Maggette”), appeals the

February 10, 2016 judgment entry of sentence journalizing his conviction by a jury

for one count of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, in violation of R.C.

2907.04(A),(B)(3), a felony of the third degree, and one count of sexual imposition,

in violation of R.C. 2907.06(A)(4),(C), a misdemeanor of the third degree. The trial

court sentenced Maggette to the maximum penalty of sixty months in prison for his

conviction of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and ordered him to comply with

the registration requirements for a Tier II sex offender. As for his conviction of

sexual imposition, the trial court imposed a sixty-day jail term to be served

concurrent to the sixty-month prison term and ordered Maggette to comply with the

registration requirements for a Tier I sex offender. On appeal, Maggette contends

his convictions were based upon insufficient evidence and challenges the

appropriateness of his sentence.

Statement of the Case

{¶2} On November 10, 2015, the Seneca County Grand Jury indicted

Maggette on Count One, unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. This charge

stemmed from allegations that over the course of several months Maggette engaged

in sexual conduct with M.F., the half-sister of his then seventeen-year-old girlfriend,

B.G. Maggette was renting a room at the home of M.F.’s parents, B.G.’s father and

-2- Case No. 13-16-06

step-mother. M.F. was thirteen years-old and Maggette was thirty-six-years old

when the alleged sexual conduct began. The indictment also alleged Count Two,

sexual imposition, which arose from a claim that, contemporaneous to the beginning

of his sexual conduct with M.F., Maggette had put his hand down the pants of B.G.’s

other half-sister, C.C., and placed his hand on her bare buttock. C.C. was fourteen-

years-old at the time of the incident. Maggette was subsequently arraigned and

pleaded not guilty to the charges.

{¶3} On February 1, 2016, the case proceeded to a jury trial. Several

witnesses testified for the prosecution, including both victims, M.F. and C.C., the

SANE nurse who examined M.F., administered a sexual assault kit, and collected

M.F.’s DNA standard, and the scientists from BCI who tested M.F.’s vaginal swabs

collected during the SANE exam and concluded Maggette’s DNA could not be

excluded from the sample. After the presentation of the prosecution’s witnesses

both the State and the defense rested. The jury returned a guilty verdict on both

counts.

{¶4} On February 9, 2016, Maggette appeared for sentencing. The trial court

sentenced Maggette to a sixty-month prison term on Count One, unlawful sexual

conduct with a minor, and a sixty-day jail term on Count Two, sexual imposition,

with the terms of incarceration to run concurrent. Based upon the convictions,

Maggette was also classified as a Tier I and a Tier II sexual offender.

-3- Case No. 13-16-06

{¶5} Maggette filed this appeal, asserting the following assignments of error.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. I

THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THE VERDICT THAT APPELLANT COMMITTED THE OFFENSES OF UNLAWFUL SEXUAL CONDUCT WITH A MINOR AND SEXUAL IMPOSITION.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. II

THE TRIAL COURT’S [SIC] ERRED AND ABUSED IT’S [SIC] DISCRETION IN IMPOSING UPON APPELLANT A MAXIMUM SENTENCE BECAUSE THE COURT DID NOT COMPLY WITH THE MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS OF CRIM.R. 32(A).

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. III

THE TRIAL COURT ERRED WHEN IT SENTENCED APPELLANT TO THE MAXIMUM TERM FOR INCARCERATION FOR SEXUAL IMPOSITION BECAUSE APPELLANT DID NOT COMMIT THE WORST FORM OF THE OFFENSE.

First Assignment of Error

{¶6} In his first assignment of error, Maggette argues that there was

insufficient evidence presented to convict him of unlawful sexual conduct with a

minor and sexual imposition. Specifically, Maggette argues with regard to the

unlawful sexual conduct with a minor offense that “[o]ther than the testimony of the

14 year old, [M.F.], there was no other direct evidence to demonstrate how semen

from Appellant Maggette appeared in the SANE nurse’s examination kit.” (Appt.

Brief at 10). As for the sexual imposition offense, he argues that “there was no

-4- Case No. 13-16-06

direct or testimonial evidence that either [C.C.] or Appellant Maggette were

sexually gratified in any manner by the conduct alleged at trial.” (Id. at 9).

Standard of Review

{¶7} Whether there is legally sufficient evidence to sustain a verdict is a

question of law. State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380, 386 (1997). Sufficiency is

a test of adequacy. Id. When an appellate court reviews a record upon a sufficiency

challenge, “ ‘the relevant inquiry is whether, after viewing the evidence in a light

most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the

essential elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt.’ ” State v.

Leonard, 104 Ohio St.3d 54, 2004-Ohio-6235, ¶ 77, quoting State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio

St.3d 259 (1991), paragraph two of the syllabus.

Unlawful Sexual Conduct with a Minor

{¶8} In Count One, Maggette was charged with unlawful sexual conduct

with a minor, in violation of R.C. 2907.04(A), (B)(3) which states:

(A) No person who is eighteen years of age or older shall engage in sexual conduct with another, who is not the spouse of the offender, when the offender knows the other person is thirteen years of age or older but less than sixteen years of age, or the offender is reckless in that regard.

***

(B)(3) * * * if the offender is ten or more years older than the other person, unlawful sexual conduct with a minor is a felony of the third degree.

-5- Case No. 13-16-06

{¶9} The State presented the following evidence in its case-in-chief to

establish the essential elements of the crime. Cristen F., M.F.’s mother, testified

that Maggette had been living in her home in Tiffin since April of 2015. She

explained that at the time Maggette was the boyfriend of her seventeen-year-old

step-daughter, B.G., who stayed in the home on the weekends. Per their

arrangement, Maggette rented B.G.’s room at the home for $150.00 per month.

Cristen claimed that she had known Maggette for over a year as B.G.’s boyfriend

and initially thought he was twenty-two years old. She later learned that he was in

fact in his mid-thirties.

{¶10} On October 31, 2015, at approximately 7:00 p.m., Cristen walked

passed Maggette’s room and observed him sitting on his bed “passionately kissing”

M.F., her fourteen-year-old daughter. (Tr. at 134). Cristen confronted Maggette

who initially denied engaging in any sexual conduct with M.F. However, M.F. led

her mother into the bathroom away from Maggette, who at the time was attempting

to fight his way into the bathroom and became involved in a “shoving match” with

Cristen. (Id. at 136).

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2016 Ohio 5554, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-maggette-ohioctapp-2016.