State v. T.E.C.

92 P.3d 263, 122 Wash. App. 9, 2004 Wash. App. LEXIS 1054
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedMay 24, 2004
DocketNo. 52006-7-I
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 92 P.3d 263 (State v. T.E.C.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. T.E.C., 92 P.3d 263, 122 Wash. App. 9, 2004 Wash. App. LEXIS 1054 (Wash. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

Appelwick, J.

T.C., a juvenile, was found guilty of one count of child molestation in the first degree and one count of assault in the fourth degree with sexual motivation. The trial court imposed a manifest injustice disposition, suspended it, and ordered a special sexual offender disposition alternative (SSODA). The court specified that the SSODA be served in a residential sexual offender treatment facility. When T.C. still had not been placed at a residential treatment facility approximately seven months later, the court [14]*14revoked his SSODA and reinstated his manifest injustice disposition. T.C. appeals the trial court’s imposition of a manifest injustice disposition and its revocation of his SSODA. We affirm.

FACTS

T.C., born February 14, 1987, was charged in January 2002 with two counts of child molestation in the first degree and one count of assault in the fourth degree with sexual motivation. The charges were based on an incident alleged to have occurred approximately 18 months previously when T.C. was 14 years old. The facts supporting the charges on both counts include the following: T.C. had formed a “Truth or Dare” club which included his victims, a seven-year-old girl, a nine-year-old girl, and a nine-year-old boy.1 T.C. dared the victims to perform various sexual acts, including asking at least one of them to lick his penis. When one victim refused, he punched and choked him. Additionally, he licked the bare vagina of one victim and instructed his younger brother to engage in inappropriate sexual acts with a victim. T.C. had no prior criminal history.

T.C. was taken into custody when charges were levied but was subsequently released under strict conditions. The conditions of his release included that “a responsible adult who is aware of current allegations” supervise him visually and orally, “inside and outside the home ... 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.” On May 3, 2002, T.C. was remanded to secure detention as a “threat to community safety” after he was found to have violated the conditions of his release. His violations included using alcohol and marijuana and disappearing for extended periods of time without his mother or another adult knowing of his whereabouts.

In May 2002, T.C. entered guilty pleas on one count of child molestation in the first degree and one count of assault in the fourth degree with sexual motivation.

[15]*15In August 2002, while T.C. was in detention awaiting a disposition hearing, he filed a child-in-need-of-services (CHINS) petition.2 Also while awaiting disposition, T.C. underwent a sexual deviancy evaluation to determine whether he was eligible for a SSODA pursuant to RCW 13.40.160(3).3 The evaluator, Dr. Dan Knoepfler, concluded that T.C. presented a moderate to high risk of reoffense to the community. Dr. Knoepfler also concluded that the interests of the community and of T.C. would best be served if T.C. completed 104 weeks of specialized sex offender treatment, with a minimum of one year of that treatment in a structured, residential sexual offender treatment program.

At a September 11, 2002 hearing, T.C.’s defense counsel requested that his disposition be delayed in order to locate a residential placement with T.C.’s relatives4 and to pursue a CHINS petition. The trial court consolidated the offender disposition and CHINS petition hearings.5 The State re[16]*16quested a manifest injustice disposition of 104 weeks on count I and 30 days on count II. The court imposed a manifest injustice disposition of 104 weeks, suspended it, and ordered a SSODA to be served in a residential sexual offender treatment facility. The trial court stated that if an appropriate placement was not available, T.C. “should receive his treatment through a secure JRA [(Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration)] facility.”

Over the Department of Social and Health Services’ (the Department) repeated objections, the trial court also granted T.C.’s CHINS petition. On January 27, 2003, an appellate court commissioner granted the Department’s motion for an emergency stay of T.C.’s CHINS pending discretionary review. The trial court set a revocation hearing for T.C.’s SSODA in early February 2003.6

On February 26, 2003, the trial court revoked T.C.’s SSODA and 104-week manifest injustice disposition on the grounds that a placement had not been secured. T.C. was committed to JRA under a manifest injustice disposition for 84 to 104 weeks with credit for 221 days already served in detention. T.C. appeals the trial court’s imposition of a manifest injustice disposition and its vacation of his SSODA.

ANALYSIS

I. Manifest Injustice Disposition T.C. asserts that several aggravating factors relied upon by the trial court are not supported by the record or do not support a manifest injustice disposition.

[17]*17A court may impose a sentence outside the standard range for a juvenile offender if it determines that a sentence within the standard range would “effectuate a manifest injustice.” RCW 13.40.160(2); State v. Beaver, 148 Wn.2d 338, 345, 60 P.3d 586 (2002). “ ‘Manifest injustice’ means a disposition that would either impose an excessive penalty on the juvenile or would impose a serious and clear danger to society in light of the purposes of [the Juvenile Justice Act of 1977 (JJA)].” RCW 13.40.020(17); State v. Moro, 117 Wn. App. 913, 918, 73 P.3d 1029 (2003). These purposes include protecting the citizenry from criminal behavior; making the juvenile accountable for his or her criminal behavior; providing for punishment commensurate with the age, crime, and criminal history of the juvenile; and providing necessary treatment, supervision, and custody of juvenile offenders. RCW 13.40.010(2)(a), (c), (d), (f).

To impose a manifest injustice disposition, the court must have "clear and convincing evidence” that a disposition within the standard range would be clearly excessive or clearly too lenient. RCW 13.40.160(2); State v. M.L., 134 Wn.2d 657, 660, 952 P.2d 187 (1998). A disposition is clearly excessive “ ‘only when it cannot be justified by any reasonable view which may be taken of the record.’ ” State v. Tauala, 54 Wn. App. 81, 87, 771 P.2d 1188 (1989) (quoting State v. Strong, 23 Wn. App. 789, 794-95, 599 P.2d 20 (1979)). In determining the appropriate disposition, a trial court may consider both statutory and nonstatutory aggravating factors, including that the juvenile is at a high risk to reoffend. State v. S.H., 75 Wn. App.

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Bluebook (online)
92 P.3d 263, 122 Wash. App. 9, 2004 Wash. App. LEXIS 1054, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-tec-washctapp-2004.