State v. Petitto, 88591 (8-2-2007)

2007 Ohio 3901
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 2, 2007
DocketNo. 88591.
StatusPublished

This text of 2007 Ohio 3901 (State v. Petitto, 88591 (8-2-2007)) 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. Petitto, 88591 (8-2-2007), 2007 Ohio 3901 (Ohio Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION *Page 3
{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Anthony Petitto, appeals his convictions for rape and gross sexual imposition. For the reasons that follow, we affirm, but remand for correction of the trial court's entry of conviction.

{¶ 2} Appellant was charged in a five-count indictment with rape, gross sexual imposition and kidnapping for offenses alleged to have occurred between July and August 2005 against the minor victim, R.C.1 Prior to trial, count one, rape, count three, gross sexual imposition, and count five, kidnapping, were dismissed by the State. Also prior to trial, the State filed a motion to admit other acts evidence pursuant to Evid.R. 404(B) and R.C. 2945.59, which was opposed by the defense. The trial court granted the State's motion.

{¶ 3} The case proceeded to a jury trial on count two, rape in violation of R.C. 2907.02(A)(1)(c), and count four, gross sexual imposition in violation of R.C. 2907.05(A)(5). Both counts contained sexually violent predator specifications, which were bifurcated and tried to the court.

{¶ 4} At the conclusion of the State's case, the defense made a Crim.R. 29 motion for acquittal, which was denied. The defense rested without presenting any evidence, and renewed its Crim.R. 29 motion, which was again denied. *Page 4

{¶ 5} The jury found appellant guilty of rape and gross sexual imposition. The court found appellant not guilty of the sexually violent predator specifications.2 After a sexual predator hearing, appellant was found to be a sexually oriented offender. The trial court sentenced appellant to four years on the rape and 12 months on the gross sexual imposition, to be served concurrently.

{¶ 6} The testimony at trial revealed that the victim, R.C., a minor girl, would often visit appellant's house so that she could see his two minor daughters, who were her cousins. Appellant, his girlfriend Deborah Walker, and their two daughters lived in the back portion of the house, and appellant's mother and her boyfriend lived in the front of the house. The two portions of the house were connected by a door.

{¶ 7} R.C. lived with her mother, Carrie Lee,3 and her two minor sisters. R.C. testified that sometime in either 2000 or 2001, her mother prohibited her and her sister, A.L., from going to appellant's house because of an incident that occurred during a sleepover. Specifically, R.C, A.L, and their friend, D.M., testified that they had spent the night at appellant's house and appellant put in a pornographic videotape for them to watch. D.M. testified that while the video was playing, *Page 5 appellant was smiling and unzipped his pants. D.M. further testified that appellant told her and A.L. about him and his "wife" having sex.

{¶ 8} Despite her mother's order that she was no longer allowed to go to appellant's house, A.L. continued to go. She testified that on one or two of those occasions, appellant would take her to the store to buy cigarettes and alcohol for her. Appellant allowed A.L. to drink the alcohol at his house, and requested only that she not drink it in front of his daughters or mother. A.L. further testified that R.C. would often ask appellant to purchase alcohol for her, but that he would refuse. She remembered one occasion, however, when appellant purchased alcohol for R.C.

{¶ 9} The record demonstrates that R.C. had a problem with alcohol and drug use and had been hospitalized for alcohol abuse in the past. R.C, A.L. and Lee testified that R.C.'s problems were not a secret and were openly discussed with family and friends, including appellant.

{¶ 10} R.C. testified that after she was hospitalized in the fall of 2004, her mother allowed her to go to appellant's house again. Lee explained that she allowed R.C. to go back to appellant's house at that time because her brother-in-law, Brian Thompson, had moved in with him. R.C. testified that when she would go to appellant's house, he would take her to the store to buy alcohol for her, which she would then consume at his house. R.C. further testified that appellant would sometimes call her and ask her to spend the night at his house and she would say *Page 6 "no." Appellant then would tell her that he would buy alcohol for her if she agreed to sleep over.

{¶ 11} R.C. also testified to discussions she had with appellant about sex, including him telling her that he could perform oral sex on her better than her boyfriend. According to R.C, one time when she was at appellant's house, he got chocolate syrup, put it on her toes, and tried to lick it off.

{¶ 12} R.C. testified that appellant would continue to invite her to his house and that she would often ask if she could bring a friend. Appellant would often object, but eventually would give in and allow her to bring a friend. In regard to the incident which gave rise to the charges and convictions in this case, R.C. testified that sometime in July or August 2005, she and a friend, C.H., spent the night at appellant's house. R.C. and C.H. were supposed to sleep on the couch. The two girls consumed Bacardi and beer that appellant had given to them. R.C. described herself as not being drunk, but feeling "a little woozy" after she had the alcohol. She explained that she and Walker, appellant's "wife," had earlier gotten into a fight and Walker had gone to the front of the house.

{¶ 13} R.C. testified that later in the evening, after appellant's daughters had gone to sleep upstairs, she, C.H. and appellant were all sitting on the couch watching television. R.C. stated that she was still awake, but had her eyes closed, when she noticed C.H. get up from the couch and lie down on the floor. R.C. testified that appellant started touching her over her clothes in her private area. She *Page 7 explained that appellant then rubbed between her legs and touched her under her clothes, putting his fingers inside her vagina. R.C. testified that she just sat there pretending to sleep because she was scared.

{¶ 14} According to R.C, appellant stopped when his mother came in and started yelling at him because she had discovered from Walker that he was alone with R.C. and C.H. R.C. explained that she did not initially tell anyone, including C.H., what had happened because she was scared. In December 2005, R.C. was admitted to the emergency room for overdosing on pills and cutting herself, and at that time, she first told of the incident with appellant.

{¶ 15} C.H. also testified that she and R.C. had spent a night at appellant's house in the summer of 2005. She testified that R.C. had asked appellant to buy alcohol for them, and appellant did. According to C.H., R.C. was a little drunk, but she was not. C.H. explained that she, R.C. and appellant were sitting on the couch, with appellant in the middle. She stated that while she and R.C. were trying to go to sleep, she felt appellant rubbing his hands on her thighs, so she got up to sleep on the floor. She testified that she did not immediately tell anyone about the incident (including R.C.) because she did not want to get in trouble for drinking.

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Bluebook (online)
2007 Ohio 3901, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-petitto-88591-8-2-2007-ohioctapp-2007.