State v. Moses

615 So. 2d 1030, 1993 WL 64713
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 5, 1993
Docket92 KA 0394
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 615 So. 2d 1030 (State v. Moses) 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. Moses, 615 So. 2d 1030, 1993 WL 64713 (La. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

615 So.2d 1030 (1993)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Coleman L. MOSES.

No. 92 KA 0394.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

March 5, 1993.
Rehearing Denied April 28, 1993.

*1031 Washington Parish Dist. Atty., William J. Burris, Franklinton, William R. Campbell, Jr., New Orleans, for plaintiff—State of La.

Richard W. Watts, Franklinton, for defendant—Coleman Moses.

Before CARTER, LeBLANC and PITCHER, JJ.

CARTER, Judge.

Coleman L. Moses was charged by bill of information with two counts of molestation of a juvenile, violations of LSA-R.S. 14:81.2. He pled not guilty and, after trial by jury, was convicted as charged. The trial court sentenced him to serve a term of five years imprisonment at hard labor on each count. The sentences were to be served concurrently. Defendant appealed, urging four assignments of error.

FACTS

Defendant was the band director at Varnado High School in Washington Parish. He was convicted of having molested two of his female band students on separate occasions in 1990. Both girls were fourteen years old when the offenses occurred and had been in the band with defendant since the sixth grade.

The first incident (which was the subject of count two) occurred in late April of 1990. During band practice one day, defendant asked a female band member why she was not playing her trombone to the best of her ability, and the student explained that she was having problems at home. Because she had to catch the bus, she was not able to discuss the problems with defendant at that time. She later wrote him a letter explaining her family problems and repeatedly asked defendant for the opportunity to discuss the situation with him. After about two weeks, defendant got the victim out of her home economics class and took her to the band room for counseling. The victim indicated that her mother was ill and, as the oldest of several children, she had many obligations at home which made it difficult for her to have time to practice for the band. After discussing the victim's reasons for poor performance, defendant asked the victim about a rash on her face. The conversation was interrupted when the school secretary went in to get defendant for a telephone call. Defendant told the victim to wait for him, and when he returned from the phone call, defendant told the victim about the importance of prayer in solving her problems. He then asked whether her rash had spread. When the victim told him that it had not, he turned her face and started checking further. Defendant undid the top buttons of the victim's blouse and said he was checking for the rash. Eventually defendant put his hand on the victim's bare breast. He then sat her on a chair at the entrance of the storage room. After pulling down the victim's panties and kneeling before her, defendant *1032 touched the victim's vagina with his fingers and began performing oral sex upon her.

The victim's nervousness caused defendant to laugh. When she fell back onto the chair, defendant stopped his actions and warned her, "what goes on in the band stays in the band." This was a statement defendant frequently made to the band members. Before escorting the victim to her next class, defendant agreed to help her sell tickets for a production in which she was involved. (One of the problems the victim had discussed with defendant was her difficulty in having time to sell the tickets.) Initially, the victim did not tell anyone about defendant's actions. Defendant had regularly counseled the victim, as well as other band members, and she was ashamed, confused, and embarrassed by defendant's actions. Additionally, she did not want to tell her mother because her mother was sick at the time.

On May 2, 1990, defendant molested a second female band student. (This incident is the subject of count one.) Defendant took the student out of band practice and brought her into the school library to discuss rumors of her being pregnant. During the conversation, one of the school custodians came into the library, but left when defendant pushed him out the door and told him not to come into the library at that time. Defendant then locked the library door and began rubbing the student's stomach on the outside of her shirt. He explained that he was trying to determine if she was pregnant. He then told her to pull down her shorts and underwear, which she did. Defendant instructed the girl to sit in a chair and raise her legs. He then started touching and feeling her vaginal area. Because she was crying, defendant told her to wash her face in the bathroom. He then walked with her to the bathroom and told her not to tell anyone what had happened because "what goes [sic] in the band stays in the band." When the student returned to the practice field, she was still crying so defendant ended the practice and told the student he would drive her home and tell her mother that he thought she was pregnant. Defendant had never before driven the girl home. He initially drove in the wrong direction, but, when she told him he was going the wrong way, he turned the car around and took her home. Upon their arrival, defendant told the girl's mother about the pregnancy, and the mother became very upset. The victim testified that, although she had an idea she was pregnant, she had not told her mother earlier because she feared that her mother would be angry.

When the victim's mother left the house to go to the store, the victim told her aunt that she had been molested by defendant. Her mother was later informed when she returned from the store. The victim then began walking to her grandmother's house, and on her way, she ran into the first victim. (The girls were close friends). The first victim asked her why she had been crying at band practice that day, and the second victim revealed defendant's acts of sexual abuse. The first victim then shared her own story of defendant's abuse.

Defendant testified in his own defense and denied the allegations of impropriety. He admitted having counseled the two girls, and he even admitted touching the second victim's stomach, but he denied molesting the girls. Defendant presented the testimony of the school principal, the school secretary, and his wife to establish that the first victim's testimony concerning the time of the counseling session was inaccurate. Defendant also presented the testimony of the school custodian who had entered the library during the counseling session with the second victim. The custodian testified that defendant did not say anything to him or touch him in any way when he entered the library. Because he suspected defendant and the student were discussing something private, he exited the library on his own. A former band member and recent graduate of the school also testified on defendant's behalf. She stated that she had frequently worked alone with defendant while she was in the band, but defendant had never made an improper advance toward her.

*1033 INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

In the first two assignments of error, defendant asserts that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions. Defendant specifically attacks the credibility of the victims. Defendant claims the testimony of the first victim was unreliable since some of her testimony was contradicted by the testimony of her school principal and the school secretary. Moreover, defendant contends that her behavior and actions after the alleged offense were inconsistent with the allegations she lodged against defendant. Defendant also claims that the second victim concocted the molestation allegations because she feared her mother's reaction to her pregnancy.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
615 So. 2d 1030, 1993 WL 64713, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-moses-lactapp-1993.