State v. Marrero

92 So. 3d 21, 2011 La.App. 1 Cir. 1285, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 471, 2012 WL 601243
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 10, 2012
DocketNo. 2011 KA 1285
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 92 So. 3d 21 (State v. Marrero) 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. Marrero, 92 So. 3d 21, 2011 La.App. 1 Cir. 1285, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 471, 2012 WL 601243 (La. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

HUGHES, J.

|gThe defendant, Albert J. Marrero, Jr.,1 was charged by bill of information with aggravated incest, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:78.1. The defendant entered a plea of not guilty, was tried before a jury, and was found guilty of the responsive offense of attempted aggravated incest, in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:27 and LSA-R.S. 14:78.1. The trial court denied the defendant’s motion for new trial and sentenced the defendant to five years imprisonment at hard labor. The defendant now appeals, assigning as error that the evidence is insufficient to support the verdict, and that his trial counsel was ineffective. For the following reasons, we affirm the conviction and sentence.

FACTS

According to the victim, M.A.L.,2 her relationship with the defendant (her stepfather) became sexual when she was thirteen years of age and her mother was pregnant. The victim specifically indicated that the sexual nature of their relationship began with a game called “chicken,” wherein the victim would be considered a chicken if she did not acquiesce in certain conduct. The first time the defendant suggested that the victim play the game with him, he kissed her cheek, neck, and lips before she cried out “chicken.” During the next incident, the defendant kissed the victim and rubbed the lower part of her thigh before she cried out “chicken.” Approximately two weeks later, during a third incident, the defendant started rubbing the victim’s thighs and proceeded to place his hands in her pants, over her underwear. Ultimately the defendant began sleeping in the same Lbed with the victim, placing his hands in her underwear, and rubbing her vagina. The victim stated that this would happen on weeknights and continued until she reached the age of eighteen. The victim stated that during one of the occasions when the defendant was sleeping in the same bed with her, he performed oral sex on her. The victim further indicated that, on occasion, she also performed oral sex on the defendant. The victim reported the incidents on January 4, 2010 and a police investigation ensued.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE

In his first assignment of error, the defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction of attempted aggravated incest. The defendant notes that the victim was angry when he and her mother had their first child together. The defendant also detailed the victim’s allegations, and while noting his admission that there was one inappropriate kiss, he further notes his denial of the victim’s claim that he took a week off from [25]*25work to spend time with her while her mother was out of town for church. In this regard the defendant notes that he testified that he could never have afforded to take a week off from work. The defendant notes that the victim admitted to sending him and her mother birthday and anniversary cards after she moved out, specifying a birthday card that she sent entitled, “Happy Birthday To A Loving Dad.” Further, the defendant notes that the anniversary card she sent to them included the following handwritten note, “You made it 10 whole years. I love yc’]all both so much and hope that one day I can be happily married for 10 years to someone wonderful.” The defendant concludes that no reasonable jury could have found him guilty of attempted aggravated incest.

In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction, a Louisiana appellate court is controlled by the standard enunciated by the |4United States Supreme Court in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). The Jackson standard of review, incorporated in LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 821(B), is whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could conclude the State proved the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Ordodi, 2006-0207, p. 10 (La.11/29/06), 946 So.2d 654, 660. The Jackson standard is an objective standard for testing the overall evidence, both direct and circumstantial, for reasonable doubt. When analyzing circumstantial evidence, LSA-R.S. 15:438 provides that the factfinder must be satisfied the overall evidence excludes every reasonable hypothesis of innocence. State v. Patomo, 2001-2585, p. 5 (La.App. 1 Cir. 6/21/02), 822 So.2d 141, 144. The factfinder weighs the respective credibilities of the witnesses, and an appellate court will generally not second-guess those determinations. State v. Ordodi, 2006-0207 at p. 10, 946 So.2d at 660 (citing State v. Dabney, 2002-0934, p. 1 (La.4/9/03), 842 So.2d 326, 327; State ex rel. Graffagnino v. King, 436 So.2d 559, 563 (La.1983)).

Herein the defendant was convicted of attempted aggravated incest. Louisiana Revised Statute 14:78.1, the aggravated incest statute, provides in pertinent part:

A. Aggravated incest is the engaging in any prohibited act enumerated in Subsection B with a person who is under eighteen years of age and who is known to the offender to be related to the offender as any of the following biological, step, or adoptive relatives: child, grandchild of any degree, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece.
B. The following are prohibited acts under this Section:
(1) Sexual intercourse ... carnal knowledge of a juvenile, indecent behavior with juveniles ... molestation of a juvenile ... or any other involvement of a child in sexual activity constituting a crime under the laws of this state.
|k(2) Any lewd fondling or touching of the person of either the child or the offender, done or submitted to with the intent to arouse or to satisfy the sexual desires of either the child, the offender, or both.

Felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile is committed when a person who is seventeen years of age or older has sexual intercourse, with consent, with a person who is thirteen years of age or older but less than seventeen years of age, when the victim is not the spouse of the offender and when the difference between the age of the victim and the age of the offender is four years or greater. LSA-R.S. 14:80(A)(1). Sexual intercourse means anal, oral, or vaginal sexual intercourse. LSA-R.S. 14:80(B). Indecent behavior with juveniles [26]*26is, in pertinent part, the commission of any lewd or lascivious act upon the person of any child under the age of seventeen, where there is an age difference of greater than two years between the two persons, with the intention of arousing or gratifying the sexual desires of either person. LSA-R.S. 14:81(A)(1). Such an act constitutes molestation of a juvenile, in pertinent part, if committed by the use of influence by virtue of a position of control or supervision over the juvenile. LSA-R.S. 14:81.2(A)(1). Under LSA-R.S. 14:27(A), a person is guilty of an attempt to commit an offense when he has a specific intent to commit a crime and “does or omits an act for the purpose of and tending directly toward the accomplishing of his object.” Thus, to support a conviction for attempted aggravated incest, the State is required to prove that the defendant specifically intended to engage in an act listed in Subsection B of LSA-R.S. 14:78.1 with his stepdaughter. Such proof is indispensable, as specific intent to accomplish the offense is the sine qua non of the criminal offense of attempt.

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

Related

State Of Louisiana v. Christopher Paul Glenn
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2022
State v. Alexander
182 So. 3d 126 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
State v. Pennywell
139 So. 3d 587 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014)
State of Louisiana v. Tony Garnell Pennywell
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
92 So. 3d 21, 2011 La.App. 1 Cir. 1285, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 471, 2012 WL 601243, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-marrero-lactapp-2012.