State v. Pate, 90093 (6-16-2008)

2008 Ohio 2934
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 16, 2008
DocketNo. 90093.
StatusUnpublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2008 Ohio 2934 (State v. Pate, 90093 (6-16-2008)) 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. Pate, 90093 (6-16-2008), 2008 Ohio 2934 (Ohio Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION *Page 3
{¶ 1} Appellant, Darnell Pate, appeals his convictions and sentences for rape, kidnapping, and gross sexual imposition. After a thorough review of the record and for the reasons set forth below, we affirm.

{¶ 2} On November 30, 2005, the Cuyahoga County Grand Jury returned a five-count indictment against appellant, charging him with two counts of rape, two counts of kidnapping, and one count of gross sexual imposition. On January 13, 2006, appellant was arrested and remained in jail until July 20, 2006. On May 8, 2006, appellant filed a pro se motion to dismiss for violation of his speedy trial rights.1

{¶ 3} Appellant waived his right to a jury trial, and on March 6, 2007, a bench trial commenced. The trial court found the following: not guilty on Counts one and three, rape and kidnapping stemming from events which occurred in May 2004; guilty on Count two, rape, in violation of R.C. 2907.02(A)(2), a first degree felony; guilty on Count four, kidnapping, in violation of R.C. 2905.01(A)(2), a first degree felony with a sexual motivation specification; and guilty on Count five, gross sexual imposition, in violation of R.C. 2907.05(A)(1), a fourth degree felony. Appellant was sentenced to ten years on the rape charge, ten years on the kidnapping charge, and eighteen months on the gross sexual imposition charge, all to run concurrently. *Page 4 During the sentencing hearing, the trial court determined that appellant was not a sexual predator.

{¶ 4} At trial, the state called seven witnesses, including the 13-year-old female victim, her mother, her brother, her paternal grandfather, a forensics expert, the assigned social worker, and the detective who investigated the case.

{¶ 5} The following relevant facts were adduced at trial. Sometime prior to July 2005, the family, including appellant, moved to a house on East 76th Street in Cleveland. The victim testified that on the afternoon of July 2, 2005, she was alone in the house with appellant when he asked her to "wrestle" and to pick a room in which to do it. She had seen appellant wrestle with her brothers before and thought he was being playful. The victim testified she went with appellant to her mother's room and began to wrestle with him on the floor. He began kissing her neck and breasts, then he got up and shut the windows and locked the doors to the house. The victim testified she ran upstairs to her brother's bedroom, and appellant followed her.

{¶ 6} The victim further testified that while she was in the upstairs bedroom, appellant demanded that she take off her clothes and, out of fear, she did what he said. Appellant removed his pants, held his penis, and then inserted it into her vagina. The doorbell rang, and appellant got up and went downstairs. The victim testified that she noticed white, "slimy stuff" on and near her vagina and between her *Page 5 legs, so she shut herself in the bathroom by securing the bathroom door with an extension cord, then proceeded to take a bath.

{¶ 7} The victim then testified that appellant returned upstairs to tell her that no one was at the door, and then he went back downstairs. She bathed, changed into clean clothes and, because she was afraid to stay in the house with appellant, she went to a neighbor's house until her mother returned home.

{¶ 8} The victim testified that on July 3, she told her mother what appellant had done to her, stating that he had "humped her." Her mother confronted appellant, who denied everything. The victim testified that her mother took her to the hospital to determine if she had been sexually active. Neither the victim nor her mother told the staff at the hospital of the alleged rape. The victim testified that later that afternoon, she sent a text message to her father stating that appellant had sexually assaulted her.

{¶ 9} The victim further testified that on July 4, four policemen arrived at her home to question her about the alleged assault, but she did not tell them what happened because she was afraid she had done something wrong. Also on that date, Deborah Crawford, a social worker, arrived at her home. The victim testified that she told Crawford that appellant had raped her. After her interview with Crawford, the victim went with her mother back to the hospital and completed a rape kit. *Page 6

{¶ 10} The victim's mother testified that on July 3rd, her daughter told her that appellant had "humped her." She confronted him, and he denied he had touched the victim. When appellant refused to go to the hospital with her and her daughter, she ordered him to leave the house.

{¶ 11} The mother further testified that, on their first visit to the hospital, she asked the staff to check her daughter to determine if she had been sexually active, but they refused to do this type of examination. She also testified that neither she nor her daughter told the hospital staff of any sexual abuse. She further testified that on July 4th, four policemen arrived at their home to question her daughter, but that her daughter refused to tell them what appellant had done to her.

{¶ 12} Deborah Crawford testified that the victim told her that appellant had raped her. She testified she instructed the victim to gather the clothing she had been wearing at the time of the incident and go to the hospital to have a rape kit performed. Crawford testified that the victim told her that appellant had tried to rape her in May 2004, when the family was living on Manor Road.

{¶ 13} Christopher Smith, the state's forensics expert, testified that he evaluated the rape kit performed on the victim. The results of the tests indicated that one sperm cell was detected in the vaginal swab, but no other trace of saliva, blood, or semen was found in the samples or on the victim's underwear. *Page 7

{¶ 14} At the close of the state's case, defense counsel made a Crim. R. 29 motion, which the court denied. The defense did not present a case, but renewed its Crim. R. 29 motion. The court denied the motion.

Review and Analysis
{¶ 15} Appellant filed a timely notice of appeal. He raises five assignments of error for our review.

Sufficiency and Manifest Weight of the Evidence
{¶ 16} Because appellant's first two assignments of error relate to the evidence adduced at trial, we address them together.

{¶ 17} "I. The State failed to present sufficient evidence to sustain appellant's convictions.

{¶ 18} "II. The appellant's convictions are against the manifest weight of the evidence."

{¶ 19} Appellant argues that the state failed to present evidence of the element of force on the charges of rape and gross sexual imposition; and evidence of force, threat, or deception on the charge of kidnapping. He also argues that the verdicts were against the manifest weight of the evidence on all three charges.

{¶ 20}

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Related

Thayer v. Diver, L-07-1415 (5-1-2009)
2009 Ohio 2053 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2009)
State v. Pate
895 N.E.2d 565 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2008)

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Bluebook (online)
2008 Ohio 2934, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-pate-90093-6-16-2008-ohioctapp-2008.