State v. Sanderson

174 So. 3d 149, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 1624, 2015 WL 4940799
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 22, 2015
DocketNo. 49,957-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 174 So. 3d 149 (State v. Sanderson) 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. Sanderson, 174 So. 3d 149, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 1624, 2015 WL 4940799 (La. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

WILLIAMS, J.

|, The defendant, Jerry Matthew Sander-son, was charged by bill of information with two counts of aggravated incest, in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:78.1, three counts of sexual battery, in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:48.1, and molestation of a juvenile, in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:81.2.1 Following a jury trial, he was found guilty as charged of one count of aggravated incest, one count of attempted aggravated incest, two counts of sexual battery 2 and molestation of a juvenile.

The defendant was sentenced to serve 25 years at hard labor for the aggravated incest conviction, and 20 years at hard labor for the attempted aggravated incest conviction. The sentences Were ordered to be served concurrently and.without the benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. He was also sentenced to serve 25 years at hard labor without the benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence for each of the two convictions for sexual battery. With regard to the molestation of a juvenile conviction, the defendant was sentenced to serve “a minimum of 25 years without benefits.” The sentences for the sexual battery and molestation of a juvenile convictions were ordered to be served concurrently to each other, but consecutively to the sentences for the aggravated incest and attempted aggravated incest convictions.

For the following reasons, we affirm the defendant’s convictions. We |2also affirm the sentences imposed for the aggravated incest and attempted aggravated incest convictions. We vacate the sentences imposed for the sexual battery and molestation of a juvenile convictions and remand this matter to the trial court for resentenc-ing. Further, on remand, the trial court shall provide the appropriate written notice to the defendant of the sex offender registration requirements.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The defendant is the step-great grandfather of C.W.,3 one of the victims in this case.4 During the trial, C.W.’s mother testified as follows: her three daughters, R.W., C.W. and H.W., her husband and she lived in Michigan; during the summers (and some holidays), her daughters visited their father, J.W., and his wife, who lived on the defendant’s property in Oua-chita Parish; J.W.’s wife is the defendant’s granddaughter; on December 29, 2010, the children returned to Michigan after visiting with their father; upon, her return C.W. confided to her mother that the defendant “touches her”; when asked to explain, C.W. pointed to her vagina and stated that the defendant “sticks his fingers [154]*154down there”; C.W. also told her mother that the defendant had warned her not to tell anyone because she would “get in trouble” if she did so; C.W. stated to her mother that she told her older sister, H.W., what the defendant had done, but H.W. did not believe her; |aC.W.’s mother immediately called the Oakland County Sheriffs Office in Pontiac, Michigan; thereafter, C.W. and her younger sister, R.W., were physically examined for signs of sexual abuse; the examinations did not provide any physical proof to support the allegations; later, C.W. began to exhibit “behavioral issues” in school; in January 2011, after disclosing the sexual abuse, C.W. began counseling; C.W. was examined by a doctor, who diagnosed her with post-traumatic stress disorder; C.W. began urinating on herself and expressing trepidation about being around older men; on January 21, 2011, upon the request of Deputy Kurt Matich, of the Oakland County Sheriffs Office, the three girls were interviewed at the Care House, a children’s advocacy center in Michigan;5 C.W. and R.W. were interviewed separately; both girls told the interviewer that they had been touched inappropriately by the defendant.6 On cross-examination, the children’s mother conceded that H.W. had made a statement to police that she believed C.W. was lying because she was with C.W. the entire time they were in Louisiana and she did not see the defendant touch her.

At trial, Jennifer Dubs, a forensic interviewer, testified that she interviewed C.W., H.W. and R.W. on January 21, 2011, at the Care House in Michigan. The video of C.W.’s interview was played in open court, ^During the interview, C.W. told Dubs that during the summer she visited her father, who lived next door to the defendant. C.W. stated that on one day during her visit, she went swimming with H.W., her stepbrother and some other children. While she was standing on a raised area of the deck near the swimming pool, the defendant unzipped his pants and she could see the part of his body “where boys go pee.” C.W. also stated that the defendant then used his finger to touch inside her “private area where it’s against the law.” C.W. stated that no one saw the defendant touch her. She also stated that he had touched her on “two or four” other occasions. The video recording revealed that C.W. was noticeably upset when describing the defendant’s conduct and she was reluctant to give details of the incidents. C.W. kept repeating that she just wanted to forget what happened to her.

On June 9, 2011, at Sgt. Caston’s request, C.W. was interviewed at the Children’s Advocacy Center in Monroe, Louisiana. The interview was conducted by Jennifer Graves, an expert forensic interviewer. During the interview, C.W. made the following statements to Graves: when she was six or seven years old, she stayed with her father for the summer; the defendant touched her “private area” after she got out of the pool; the defendant was sitting on a raised bench by the pool and [155]*155C.W. was sitting on his lap; the defendant opened his pants and tried to get her to touch his penis, but she refused; the defendant would touch her “privates”7 when she was wearing a bathing suit; the following day, she sat on the defendant’s lap | ¿wearing a bathing suit while he was driving a tractor; she told the defendant that she did not want him to touch her anymore; the defendant warned her never to tell anyone about the incidents. C.W. was unsure of how many times the defendant touched her and she stated that she had not seen the defendant since Christmas of 2010.

C.W. also testified during the defendant’s trial.8 By this time, she was 10 years old. She testified that she told the truth during her interviews in Michigan and Louisiana. C.W. also identified a letter she wrote to her teacher dated September 24, 2011, wherein she stated that the defendant “opened his zipper and told me to touch it.” Additionally, C.W. identified photographs of the swimming pool area at the defendant’s house, which depicted a raised portion of a deck with a bench next to the pool.

Deputy Tammy Philley, a former investigator of the Ouachita Parish Sheriffs Office, testified that in 2003, she investigated two prior complaints of sexual battery made against the defendant. More specifically, Deputy Philley stated that a woman had called the sheriffs office, complaining that her daughter, S.T., and niece, S.C., who were both 10 years old, had been with the defendant at his pool when the incidents occurred. According to Deputy Philley, at the time of the complaint, the sheriffs office was unable to locate the defendant to further investigate the allegations.

Sgt. Caston testified as follows: she reviewed C.W.’s videotaped interview from the Care House and the letter C.W.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
174 So. 3d 149, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 1624, 2015 WL 4940799, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-sanderson-lactapp-2015.