State v. Salata

859 S.W.2d 728, 1993 Mo. App. LEXIS 900, 1993 WL 199171
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 15, 1993
DocketNo. WD 45287
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 859 S.W.2d 728 (State v. Salata) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri 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. Salata, 859 S.W.2d 728, 1993 Mo. App. LEXIS 900, 1993 WL 199171 (Mo. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

SHANGLER, Judge.

The defendant Donald Salata appeals from a conviction by a jury for abuse of a child in violation of § 568.060, RSMo 1986. The information charged that Salata “knowingly photographed J.R., a child less than seventeen years old, while J.R. was nude and covered with excrement for the purpose of sexual stimulation and gratification of any individual who may view such depiction.” The evidence viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict was as follows.

J.R. and his parents and sister lived in California, Missouri. The mother was having difficulty toilet training J.R., then almost four years of age, so she responded to an advertisement in the November/December, 1988, issue of Child magazine for a “Freedom from Diapers” kit from the J.S. Campbell Company. She found the kit unsatisfactory and returned it for a refund. The company replied with a refund check and a letter referring her to the defendant, Donald Salata.

The mother wrote to Salata to ask if he could help with a toilet training program for J.R. Salata responded with a letter which informed her that he was working toward a doctorate degree focused on the [730]*730etiology and treatment of encopresis [soiling] and enuresis [wetting], and that he had experience designing toilet training programs for children. Salata requested that the mother record all of J.R.’s toilet training behavior over a two-week period and provided a questionnaire for her to complete and return. He also requested that she send two photographs of J.R. dressed only in shorts or diapers to allow Salata to determine the child's physical characteristics. The mother mailed Salata the completed questionnaire, information chart and four photographs of J.R. in shorts. Salata wrote back asking for photographs of J.R. in diapers, and the mother complied. The mother assumed her correspondence with Salata would be confidential.

In March of 1989, Salata visited J.R.’s home to present his toilet training program in person, equipped with camera and tape recorder. He asked for, and received, permission to take J.R. to a park alone, returned for lunch, and went out again to another park. Salata had his tape recorder with him. Salata made other visits during May, August, and September of 1989, ostensibly to attempt to toilet train J.R. according to a program Salata had devised.

On September 4, 1989, Salata took J.R. out in his van. He had a camera, borrowed the mother’s tape recorder, and they went to an area behind the California elementary school. An unidentified observer saw Sala-ta and J.R. and called the sheriff’s office to report that a man was taking nude pictures of a boy on the playground behind the schoolhouse. The officers found Salata and J.R., wearing only jeans, in the van. They requested the tape recorder and camera from Salata, and he complied. Salata had no driver’s license, so the officers took him to the sheriff’s office. An officer played the tape in the recorder, gave him the Miranda warnings, and placed him under arrest.

The officers searched the van under a warrant and found and seized a variety of letters, tapes and photographs. Among them was a camera containing exposed films which, when developed, included a photograph of J.R. lying on his back in Salata’s van, exposing his excrement-smeared buttocks next to an open, soiled diaper. Salata admitted that this photograph had been taken on September 3, 1989, the day before his arrest. The search also disclosed an unsent letter from Salata to “Ron and Kay,” discussing his work in designing a toilet training program for J.R., and referring to a “Wisconsin Baby Club” gathering. Another letter, from Sa-lata to “Larry” referred to “the next Wisconsin Baby Club diaper party,” included photographs of a child in diapers named Andrew, and was signed, “Fraternally yours, Dirty Don.” A letter to “Gene and Dee” stated that “J.R. is a good candidate to remain a sporadic pants messer throughout his childhood and perhaps continue it throughout his adulthood, following in my footsteps. Some other letters were found relating to Salata’s relish for wearing diapers and for children in diapers.

There were also various letters addressed to Salata. One letter from “Billy” to “Baby Donny” read:

J.R. must have been a lot of fun to watch. And by the smile on his face he really enjoys being in just his diapers. But doesn’t it make you feel a little strange inside, kind of excited and embarrassed at the same time?

A letter from “Baby Paul” to “Dirty Donny” read:

Just love the photos you sent showing the little boys wearing their diapers. You look real good sitting on the couch in just your diapers, plastic pants. I really enjoyed reading the questionnaire to the parents of J.R. I can really relate to what J.R. was going through and to what he was doing.

A letter from “George” read:

I really like the pictures of J.R. in the park. The shot of him standing with his back to the camera while he looked out on the lake is an outstanding photo. If you could, would you make me a 5x7 or 8x10 of this picture? I will pay you for it. It is really a great picture.

[731]*731Melvin Kofkee wrote to Salata about J.R.:

Man, J.R. sounds like a one of a kind boy. I hope his mom keeps allowing him to enjoy his diapers, though surely he must be near school age. Darn, I was hoping J.R. would be open minded to at least trying to use the baby bottle or sit/stand in a crib. At least for a pose. Does he have any bib overalls, bib shor-talls or sleepers, blanket sleepers or footed pajamas? What about posing wearing a bib? Wow, the boy J.R. enjoys diapers, yet won’t try a bottle or crib if just to stand in? Whose playpen was he standing next to?

The letter by Marvin Chetki of April 11, 1989 said:

Got your letter, stories, photo and the three individual tapes the other day.
[[Image here]]
You had asked about getting a copy of the tape showing the children. I will try to get another copy although it may take a few weeks. The fellow I got it from originally just wrote that he would be out of town until sometime in May.

The letter by Marvin Chetki of June 28, 1989 said:

By the time you get this package you should already have gotten the letter I mailed this morning. So this will be a brief [no pun intended] note. The tape containing our baby photos and some of my messy videos is for you to keep if you wish.
[[Image here]]
Well enough of that. Let me know how you liked the tape. The other tape is still photos of kids I just received a few weeks ago. Not great but still interesting. Take your time returning it and feel free to try making a copy if you wish. I will try to get a copy of the other “kid-vid” for you.

These tapes, admitted in evidence, were found in the van and contained child pornography. The “earlier letter” referred to in the Chetki letter of June 28, 1989, read:

... I really enjoy the stories you enclose! I like to read them over and over while I lie in bed jacking-off. A few of the other guys have sent photos of themselves with their diapers down.... Some of the photos were taken after they had messed their diapers, and show poop smeared all over their balls and cocks, which fits really nicely with the action in the stories.

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Related

State v. Hunter
550 N.W.2d 460 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1996)
Bennett v. Director of Revenue
889 S.W.2d 166 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1994)
State v. Jacobs
861 S.W.2d 621 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1993)

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Bluebook (online)
859 S.W.2d 728, 1993 Mo. App. LEXIS 900, 1993 WL 199171, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-salata-moctapp-1993.