State v. Tyler

619 So. 2d 807, 1993 WL 188913
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 28, 1993
Docket92 KA 1161
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 619 So. 2d 807 (State v. Tyler) 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. Tyler, 619 So. 2d 807, 1993 WL 188913 (La. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

619 So.2d 807 (1993)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
James Gale TYLER.

No. 92 KA 1161.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

May 28, 1993.

*809 Stephen P. Callahan, Attorney at Law, Houma, for plaintiff and appellee.

Romona Wallis, Indigent Defender Board, Houma, for defendant and appellant James Gale Tyler.

Before CARTER, LeBLANC and PITCHER, JJ.

LeBLANC, Judge.

James Gale Tyler was indicted with aggravated rape (where the victim is under the age of twelve), a violation of La.R.S. 14:42(A)(4). He pled not guilty and, after trial by jury, was convicted as charged. The court sentenced him to serve a term of life imprisonment at hard labor, without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. Defendant has appealed, urging eleven assignments of error. Assignments of error numbers one, six, seven and eight specifically were abandoned by defendant on appeal.

FACTS

Defendant was charged with raping his stepdaughter in December of 1985, at the family home in Schriever, Louisiana. The victim was seventeen years old at the time of the trial in 1992. She testified that, about a week before her mother and defendant separated, defendant took her into one of the bedrooms at their home. He threatened to kill her mother if she told anyone, and then he removed her pants and underclothes and inserted his erect penis into her vagina. He appeared to be in a hurry, and the intercourse did not last very long. The victim indicated the experience was painful. When defendant finished, he again threatened to harm the girl's mother. Because of these threats and because the victim was afraid of defendant, she did not tell anyone about the offense, even after her mother and defendant separated. The victim finally told her mother about the rape when her mother questioned her after one of the victim's cousins accused defendant of rape.

Although the victim could not recall the exact date of the rape, she remembered she *810 was in middle school when the offense occurred and she remembered the offense occurred about a week before the separation. The victim's mother testified that she and defendant (her second husband) separated in December of 1985. Considering the victim's date of birth (April 9, 1974), the victim would have been eleven years old in December of 1985, when the offense occurred. The victim's mother explained that, after she was contacted by her sister on December 6, 1989, with allegations that defendant had raped two of her sister's daughters when they were younger, she questioned the victim to find out if anything similar had happened to her. During the conversation, the victim became upset and started crying as she detailed the incident described above.

The two cousins were twenty-two and twenty-three years old at the time of the trial. The oldest cousin (S.B.) testified that, starting when she was about eight years old and continuing until she was about fourteen years old, defendant regularly had sexual intercourse with her. The first time, defendant was babysitting S.B. and her siblings. Defendant came into the bedroom where S.B. was. He undressed himself and S.B. After initially being unsuccessful in inserting his penis into the child's rectum, defendant then partially inserted his penis into her vagina. S.B. testified that she was in shock and did not understand what was going on. She told defendant he was hurting her, and he replied that he would not hurt her. He also threatened to kill her aunt (the mother of the victim in the instant case), her mother, and her father if she told anyone. S.B. testified that defendant similarly raped her on other occasions until she was about fourteen years old. S.B. did not tell anyone about the offenses until she confided in her mother (in 1989) after studying the issue in law related courses she was taking at a junior college.

S.B.'s sister (C.B.) testified that she also had been raped by defendant. When she was seven years old, defendant was babysitting her and her siblings at their home. Defendant called her into the living room, made her lie on the sofa, and undressed her. He then inserted his penis into her vagina. Because of the pain, she told him to stop. When defendant was finished, he threatened to kill C.B.'s mother, father, and her aunt. A couple of months later, defendant again raped C.B., this time when C.B. was spending the night at her aunt's home.

Defendant testified in his own defense. He denied raping his stepdaughter and two nieces and claimed the accusations were made because his first wife was a vindictive person who wanted to punish him. He also testified that he and the victim's mother separated (for the final time) on November 6, 1986, thus implying that the victim was over twelve years old when the alleged offense occurred.

INTRODUCTION OF OTHER CRIMES EVIDENCE

In the second assignment of error, defendant contests the admission of evidence which showed that defendant had engaged in sexual intercourse with two of his nieces at a time when they were younger. He argues the state did not sufficiently prove that these other acts of rape occurred or that the evidence established a motive, plan, or intent on the part of defendant. He also maintains the connection between the facts of the other crimes and the instant offense was insufficient.

Generally, evidence of criminal offenses other than the offense being tried is inadmissible as substantive evidence because of the substantial risk of grave prejudice to the defendant. State v. McDermitt, 406 So.2d 195, 200 (La.1981). In order to avoid the unfair inference that a defendant committed a particular crime simply because he is a person of criminal character, evidence of the commission of other crimes is inadmissible unless the evidence has an independent relevancy besides simply showing a criminal disposition. State v. Lafleur, 398 So.2d 1074, 1080 (La. 1981). La.C.E. art. 404(B)(1) provides the following exceptions to the general rule of inadmissibility of other crimes evidence:

*811 Except as provided in Article 412, evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show that he acted in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes, such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, absence of mistake or accident, or when it relates to conduct that constitutes an integral part of the act or transaction that is the subject of the present proceeding.

According to a memorandum filed by the State in connection with its request that the other crimes evidence be admitted in this case, the State asserted that the other crimes evidence should be admitted "for the purpose of establishing that this defendant is guilty of the crime charged." The State maintained that identity was going to be a "real issue". At the hearing held on the State's request, the State argued that it intended to introduce the other crimes evidence to show that defendant has "a method of, or a system of violating young children". In the final instructions to the jury, the court stated that the other crimes evidence was being admitted for the limited purpose of showing intent and system.

Although the State asserted the other crimes evidence was admissible to establish defendant's identity as the perpetrator, the facts show identity was not at issue. The victim was familiar with defendant. He was her stepfather and lived in the same home with her.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
619 So. 2d 807, 1993 WL 188913, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-tyler-lactapp-1993.