State v. Smith

687 S.E.2d 525, 201 N.C. App. 681, 2010 N.C. App. LEXIS 24
CourtCourt of Appeals of North Carolina
DecidedJanuary 5, 2010
DocketCAO09-235
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 687 S.E.2d 525 (State v. Smith) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Smith, 687 S.E.2d 525, 201 N.C. App. 681, 2010 N.C. App. LEXIS 24 (N.C. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

STROUD, Judge.

Edward Walter Smith (“defendant”) appeals from his convictions for eight counts of statutory rape, six counts of statutory sex offense, *682 two counts of sex offense in a parental role, and order to enroll in lifetime satellite-based monitoring upon completion of his sentence. Defendant presents three issues for this Court’s review: whether the trial court erred by (1) allowing Detective Smith’s report to be read to the jury; (2) not providing a limiting instruction regarding testimony about prior sexual conduct between the victim and defendant; and (3) ordering defendant to enroll in lifetime satellite-based monitoring. For the following reasons, we conclude that the defendant failed to preserve his objection to the reading of Detective Smith’s report to the jury, and the trial court did not err by not giving a limiting instruction, but we reverse the trial court’s lifetime satellite-based monitoring order and remand for further proceedings.

I. Background

The State’s evidence tended to show that the alleged victim in this case, Mary 1 was born on 10 August 1985 and is defendant’s adopted daughter. Mary went to live with defendant at his home in Florida when she was eight years old, and she was adopted by defendant when she was eleven years old. Mary testified that defendant’s first sexual contact with her happened when she was on the couch watching cartoons and defendant came to the living room, pulled her underwear to the side, and performed oral sex on her. She was eleven or twelve years old at the time. About a year later, defendant began having sexual intercourse with Mary. Mary became pregnant when she was fourteen years old and defendant was around fifty or fifty-one years old. When Mary told defendant about the pregnancy, he told her that she was going to have to make up a story about the identity of the father. Mary told her step-mother that the father was “somebody else[,]” but Mary stated that “[t]he father wasn’t somebody else, it was my adopted father.” Defendant’s sexual contact with Mary did not stop after Mary became pregnant. After Mary talked to police and her school principal in Florida about her pregnancy, defendant moved the family to Black Forest Campground in Transylvania County, North Carolina, around March of 2000. Mary was still pregnant and fourteen years old when the family moved to North Carolina. The family lived in an Airstream trailer during their time at Black Forest Campground. Defendant had Mary perform oral sex on him and he continued to have intercourse with Mary, throughout her whole pregnancy, whenever her adopted mother went to work. Defendant told Mary if she ever told her adoptive mother about defendant’s actions, “it would *683 break her heart” and “would break up the family” and “they would take [Mary’s] daughter away from [her].” Mary gave birth during the summer of 2000, but the sexual contact with defendant continued several times a week. Defendant moved the family from Black Forest Campground to a house in Mel Glen in the Pisgah Forest. Defendant threatened to hurt Mary’s daughter in some way if Mary did not have sex with defendant and Mary felt that defendant was going to “get at [her] somehow if [she] didn’t give in.” The sexual contact continued through 2000 and 2001, until defendant got Mary pregnant again at age sixteen. Defendant told her that she would have to get an abortion because Mary was not dating and “there was nobody to pin it on.” Mary stated that defendant “had already decided for me that I was going to have [an abortion], and there was no other way out.” Defendant drove Mary to Asheville for the abortion. After the abortion, Defendant continued to have oral sex and intercourse with Mary several times a week. When Mary was twenty years old, she decided to leave defendant’s home because she “wanted it to stop and . . . wanted to protect [her] daughter.” Mary told her priest what had happened and went to Safe House, a center for physically, emotionally or sexually abused women. Mary also spoke with T.C. Townsend, a volunteer at Safe House. Mary took out a Chapter 50B domestic violence protective order against defendant in Transylvania County. Defendant testified at the domestic violence hearing. An audio recording of his testimony at that hearing was admitted into evidence and played for the jury.

Mary also spoke with Detective Rita Smith of the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Department on 9 December 2005 and told Detective Smith about the sexual activity between her and defendant. As a result of this conversation, Detective Smith prepared a report, which is the subject of defendant’s first argument on appeal and will be discussed in more detail below. After speaking with Mary, Detective Smith spoke with defendant for approximately an hour on 27 December 2005 at the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Department. Defendant was told that he was not under arrest and was free to leave at any time. Defendant told Detective Smith that sexual activity began between himself and Mary when she was thirteen years old and continued until around 8 December 2005. Defendant stated that the sexual activity began when defendant and Mary were at his brother’s house in Florida and Mary began wrestling with him. Defendant stated that Mary began “humping” on him; defendant stated that their clothes were on. Defendant then stated that Mary “French kissed” him and he said “he was done for.” Defendant claimed that after he *684 began having sex with Mary, she “wanted it all the time.” Defendant told Detective Smith that Mary was pregnant at 14 years old; the family moved to Black Forest Campground and then Mary and defendant’s child was born at the Transylvania Community Hospital; he could not remember Mary and him having sex while Mary was pregnant, but he was sure they did; the sex continued after Mary and defendant’s child was bom; Mary was pregnant again at 16 years old but Mary had an abortion in Asheville; Mary was the one who wanted the abortion, while he did not want the abortion; he knew that the unborn child was a little boy; and the family was living in Mel Glenn when the abortion happened. Defendant told Detective Smith that Mary’s daughter was his biological child and when Mary became pregnant again at age sixteen that he was sure the baby was also his. Defendant did not present any evidence at trial.

On 30 December 2005, warrants for defendant’s arrest were issued charging him with three counts of statutory rape and two counts of sex offense in a parental role. On 11 December 2006, defendant was indicted on four counts of statutory rape and two counts of sex offense in a parental role. On 28 April 2008, defendant was indicted on six additional counts of statutory sex offense and four additional counts of statutory rape. Defendant was tried during the 9 June 2008 Session of Criminal Session of Superior Court, Transylvania County before the Honorable J. Marlene Hyatt, and a jury found him guilty of all charges. On 10 June 2008, defendant was sentenced to eight active prison terms for his convictions, to run consecutively, for a total of 1488 to 1858 months of imprisonment. The trial court also ordered defendant to enroll in lifetime satellite-based monitoring upon completion of his sentence. Defendant gave notice of appeal on 20 June 2008.

II. Detective Smith’s Report

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Doe 1 v. Cooper
842 F.3d 833 (Fourth Circuit, 2016)
State v. Watkins
720 S.E.2d 844 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2012)
State v. Jones
715 S.E.2d 896 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2011)
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700 S.E.2d 774 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2010)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
687 S.E.2d 525, 201 N.C. App. 681, 2010 N.C. App. LEXIS 24, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-smith-ncctapp-2010.