State v. Moralevitz

433 N.E.2d 1280, 70 Ohio App. 2d 20, 24 Ohio Op. 3d 16, 1980 Ohio App. LEXIS 9702
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 7, 1980
Docket40987
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 433 N.E.2d 1280 (State v. Moralevitz) 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. Moralevitz, 433 N.E.2d 1280, 70 Ohio App. 2d 20, 24 Ohio Op. 3d 16, 1980 Ohio App. LEXIS 9702 (Ohio Ct. App. 1980).

Opinion

Krenzler, C. J.

On April 6, 1979, defendant-appellant William J. Moralevitz, hereinafter referred to as appellant, was indicted on one count of kidnapping, as defined by R. C. 2905.01, and three counts of gross sexual imposition, as defined by R. C. 2907.05. At his arraignment on April 11, 1979, appellant pled not guilty.

Appellant was tried before a jury on May 29, 1979. On May 31, 1979, appellant was found guilty of all four counts of the indictment. Appellant was sentenced to terms of imprisonment of five to fifteen years on the count of kidnapping and three to ten years on the counts of gross sexual imposition. All of the sentences were to be served consecutively. Appellant appeals from this judgment.

A summary of the relevant evidence now follows:

The state presented as its key witness the young victim of the offenses, Jill B. After an extensive voir dire examination, the court ruled the child competent to testify. The child testified that she was seven years old; that on March 3,1979, “Bill” took her with him in his car to get some chicken to surprise a friend, Francine; that he first stopped at Burg’s store to get wine while Jill stayed in the car; that instead of going to pick up chicken, he drove with Jill to the lake; that he then asked her to get undressed; that he put his finger between her legs; that he put his hand on her chest; and that he put his *22 tongue in between her legs, by her “private.” Also “Bill” told her that if she told anyone, “I’ll throw you in the lake.” The witness testified that she felt “terrible” and wanted to go home. She tried to get out of the car but the doors were locked. The child did not know how long she was at the lake. “Bill” then drove her from the lake to a corner on East 78th Street. The witness then walked to her home on East 77th Street. She told her mother what had happened and was taken to the hospital. The child identified the appellant in court as “Bill,” the individual who had done these things to her.

Francine Garver testified that on March 3, 1979, she was visiting her sister Carol Gross at 1101 East 78th Street; that Jill B. was also there that day; that she and Jill were driven by appellant to buy chicken at Fana’s Foods; and that they could not purchase chicken because the store manager told them it was not ready. They then drove back to her sister’s home. Francine stated that she later walked to Burg’s store where she saw appellant and that he was still there when she left the store. Francine did not recall what time it was when she left the store. She did not see appellant any more that day. She indicated that they were supposed to see each other later in the day to go driving.

Jill’s mother testified that her daughter was playing at Carol Gross’ house on the day in question with Carol’s children; that she saw Jill at 3:30 p.m. when the child came back for her hula hoop; and that she did not see her child again until about 5:20 p.m. when the girl came home with her face flushed and eyes red from crying.

Dr. Richard Niemczura, the physician who examined Jill at the Euclid General Hospital Emergency Room, testified that there was an abrasion on her abdomen; that her vaginal area was somewhat reddened; and that laboratory tests of a specimen taken from the vagina of the child revealed the presence of amylase, an enzyme found in saliva.

A number of other witnesses also testified for the state. When the state concluded its presentation of evidence, appellant moved for a judgment of acquittal on all charges. The court overruled the motion. Appellant then rested. Appellant then moved again that he be acquitted; that the kidnapping and gross sexual imposition counts were allied offenses and that the jury should not be permitted to consider both the kid *23 napping and gross sexual imposition counts; and that the court dismiss two of the three gross sexual imposition counts on allied offense grounds. The court overruled these motions.

Appellant assigns three assignments of error for our consideration. They are as follows:

“ I. The trial court erred in denying defendant-appellant’s motion for directed verdict of acquittal as to the kidnapping count and allowing the jury to consider that count.
“II. The trial court erred in denying defendant-appellant’s motion for directed verdict and allowing the jury to consider three counts of gross sexual imposition.
“III. The verdict of the jury was against the manifest weight of the evidence and the trial court erred in not granting defendant-appellant’s motion for acquittal.”

The first assignment of error raises the question of whether kidnapping under R. C. 2905.01 and gross sexual imposition under R. C. 2907.05(A)(3) are allied offenses under R. C. 2941.25 that would preclude appellant’s being convicted of both offenses.

Appellant argues that the trial court erred in permitting the jury to consider the offenses of both kidnapping and gross sexual imposition since these were allied offenses under R. C. 2941.25. In effect, the appellant is also arguing that kidnapping under R. C. 2905.01 and gross sexual imposition under R. C. 2907.05(A)(3) are allied offenses under R. C. 2941.25 and that he cannot be convicted of both of these offenses. Appellant is in error.

The trial court was correct in permitting the jury to consider all of the offenses charged. The allied offense doctrine merely prohibits conviction of allied offenses, not the submission of the offenses to the jury. State v. Osborne (1976), 49 Ohio St. 2d 135, 144, vacated on other grounds (1978), 438 U. S. 911; State v. Kent (1980), 68 Ohio App. 2d 151, 154. The trial court was also correct in concluding that the offenses of gross sexual imposition and kidnapping for which appellant was indicted were not allied offenses in the case at bar.

R. C. 2941.25 provides as follows:

“ (A) Where the same conduct by defendant can be construed to constitute two or more allied offenses of similar import, the indictment or information may contain counts for all such offenses, but the defendant may be convicted of only one.
*24 “ (B) Where the defendant’s conduct constitutes two or more offenses of dissimilar import, or where his conduct results in two or more offenses of the same or similar kind committed separately or with a separate animus as to each, the indictment or information may contain counts for all such offenses, and the defendant may be convicted of all of them.”

In the case of State v. Donald (1979), 57 Ohio St. 2d 73, the Ohio Supreme Court held as follows in the syllabus:

“Kidnapping, as defined by R. C. 2905.01(A)(4), is an ‘offense of similar import’ to rape, as defined byR. C. 2907.02(A) (1), for purposes of application of R. C. 2941.25(A).” (Emphasis added.)

In reaching this conclusion, the court explained as follows:

“A comparison of R. C.

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Bluebook (online)
433 N.E.2d 1280, 70 Ohio App. 2d 20, 24 Ohio Op. 3d 16, 1980 Ohio App. LEXIS 9702, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-moralevitz-ohioctapp-1980.