State v. Maise

759 So. 2d 884, 2000 WL 325702
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 22, 2000
Docket99-KA-734
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 759 So. 2d 884 (State v. Maise) 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. Maise, 759 So. 2d 884, 2000 WL 325702 (La. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

759 So.2d 884 (2000)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Allen MAISE (Sentenced as "Alan Maise").

No. 99-KA-734.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

March 22, 2000.

*888 Bruce G. Whittaker, New Orleans, Louisiana, Attorney for Defendant-Appellant, Allen Maise.

Paul D. Connick, District Attorney, 24th Judicial District, Parish of Jefferson, State of Louisiana, Rebecca J. Becker, Terry Boudreaux,(Appellate Counsel), James Scott, III, Donald A. Rowan, Jr.,(Trial Counsel), Assistant District Attorneys, Louisiana.

Panel composed of Judges SOL GOTHARD, THOMAS F. DALEY and SUSAN M. CHEHARDY.

CHEHARDY, Judge.

Allen Maise appeals his conviction of violation of La. R.S. 14:42, aggravated rape of a juvenile under 12 years of age, and his sentence of life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. We affirm, but remand for correction of a patent error.

On June 4, 1998 the 16-year-old defendant was charged as an adult by grand jury indictment. He pleaded not guilty on June 19, 1998. Following defendant's motion to appoint a sanity commission and the resulting proceedings, the defendant was found competent to stand trial on September 10, 1998.

After four days of trial, on January 19, 1999 the jury returned a verdict finding defendant guilty as charged. On March 9, 1999 the trial court sentenced the defendant to life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. The defendant's motion to reconsider sentence was denied on March 18, 1999 and he filed a timely motion for appeal.

FACTS

This case involves the aggravated rape of the six-year-old victim, C.M., by the defendant.[1]

Dr. Scott Benton, an expert in pediatric forensic medicine, examined C.M. on June 30, 1998 (approximately two months after the date of the incident made the basis of this prosecution). Dr. Benton testified that during his interview with C.M., C.M. told the doctor, "A.J. [the defendant] would get on top of me while I was watching TV or playing Nintendo.... Sometime he stick his private in my hiney. It made me cry and cry because it hurted." Dr. Benton found C.M.'s statements to be detailed and consistent, with no evidence of fabrication.

Dr. Benton also performed a sexual abuse exam on C.M. The sexual abuse exam was normal, revealing no objective signs of abuse. Dr. Benton told the court, however, that he would expect the exam to be normal, because the area heals easily.

Philip Hemphill, a social worker, testified that he had been working with the defendant in group therapy since 1997. He told the jury that the defendant had originally been referred to the therapy group by the juvenile probation department, where the defendant was on probation for the sexual battery of a three-year-old girl. Hemphill testified that on April 27, 1998 the defendant's mother telephoned Hemphill's co-worker and informed her there was a concern that the defendant had re-offended. Hemphill testified further that on April 30, 1998 during the group therapy session the defendant *889 told the group that he had reoffended by anally penetrating his six-year-old cousin. According to Hemphill, the defendant stated he knew that he penetrated him, because he heard him yell and scream. He attempted to cover his mouth or tell him to quiet down, but then the child's grandmother came in. After the group therapy session, Hemphill telephoned the defendant's probation officer and informed her of the need for intervention.

The victim's grandmother, Ethel Sampey, testified that the child C.M. is her grandson and is six years old. She said that on an evening in April 1998, she was watching television in the living room while her grandson was playing a video game in his bedroom. The defendant, who is her nephew, was in the living room watching television with her. C.M. asked the defendant to come into his room and help him with his video game. The defendant left the living room for her grandson's bedroom.

Shortly afterwards, Sampey heard her grandson scream. She ran back to C.M.'s room, where she saw C.M. lying on the foot of the bed. A.J. was hugging him, telling him, "Be quiet, everything's going to be okay." Sampey said that when she entered the room, C.M. was wearing his underwear and a tee shirt because those are his sleeping clothes and he was ready for bed. The defendant was wearing shorts and a tee shirt.

Sampey asked the defendant what happened and he told her he didn't know. She told him to go home.

After the defendant left, Sampey asked C.M. why he was crying. C.M. told Sampey, "A.J. hurt me real bad." Sampey asked him where and he responded, "My booty." She said, "How did he hurt your booty?" and C.M. told her, "With his privates." Later that evening Sampey confronted the defendant's stepfather, Frank Polito, who told her that the defendant's mother had been instructed not to leave the defendant with small children.

Sampey testified further that C.M. now exhibits disturbed sleeping habits and does not like to sleep in his own bed. He cries out at night and says things such as, "Stop. Leave me alone. You're hurting me. Don't touch me. Just stop. Quit."

Amelie Gordon, an employee of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office assigned to the Jefferson Children's Advocacy Center, testified that she interviewed the victim on May 20, 1998. She stated that she asked C.M. non-leading questions and she identified State Exhibit 1 as the videotape she made of the interview.

C.M., the victim, testified that he remembered making the tape. The videotape then was played for the jury. On the videotape C.M. told Amelie Gordon that "A.J.," his "big cousin," whom he also identified as "Allen," got on top of him and hurt his "butt" with his "wee-wee". C.M. said, "He came right up to the heart and it hurted bad bad.... It hurted so bad, I cried so loud."

After the videotape concluded, C.M. testified that everything he said on the tape was truthful. He identified the defendant in open court and said that the defendant was the one who did "those things to him." On cross examination he was asked whether the defendant "touched your butt with his wee-wee" and he responded, "Yeah."

Wanda Brown of the Department of Juvenile Services identified the defendant as her client during his probation for a sexual battery. Brown testified that the defendant's social worker contacted her and told her that the defendant wished to speak with her. Brown got on the phone with the defendant and asked "if he knew what was going on with him in regards to what was being said." He responded, "Yes." She then asked if he wanted to talk about it and he did. She asked the defendant if he had sex with the little boy. The defendant said, "Yeah." She then asked him what happened. The defendant told her that he undressed the boy, undressed himself, *890 and got on top of the boy. Brown said further:

I remember asking him did he penetrate him. And his response was..., "Well, the doctor said I didn't." And I said, "You should know if you did. Did you penetrate him?" And he said, "Yes."

On cross examination Brown testified that the defendant himself was a victim of sexual abuse perpetrated by his brother and his father over a seven-year period. The abuse included fondling and anal intercourse. Asked what happened to defendant's father and brother, Brown stated that the father had committed suicide and the brother was in prison.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State of Louisiana Versus Press Shorter, III
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2023
State of Louisiana Versus Irwin Gomez-Colon
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2021
State v. Bell
178 So. 3d 234 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
State v. Gant
942 So. 2d 1099 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2006)
State v. Moses
932 So. 2d 701 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2006)
State v. Jackson
926 So. 2d 72 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2006)
State v. Wade
908 So. 2d 1220 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2005)
State v. Mills
900 So. 2d 953 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2005)
State v. Dauzart
844 So. 2d 159 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2003)
State v. Marshall
841 So. 2d 881 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2003)
State v. Fortino
837 So. 2d 684 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2002)
State v. Maise
805 So. 2d 1141 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2002)
State v. LeBlanc
788 So. 2d 1255 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2001)
State v. Kennedy
803 So. 2d 916 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2001)
State v. Powell
783 So. 2d 478 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2001)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
759 So. 2d 884, 2000 WL 325702, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-maise-lactapp-2000.