State v. V_ C

734 S.W.2d 837, 1987 Mo. App. LEXIS 4190
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 8, 1987
DocketNo. 14818
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 734 S.W.2d 837 (State v. V_ C) 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. V_ C, 734 S.W.2d 837, 1987 Mo. App. LEXIS 4190 (Mo. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

CROW, Chief Judge.

A jury found V_C_(“defendant”) guilty of committing sodomy, § 566.060, RSMo Cum.Supp.1984, upon his son, A_, and assessed punishment at 15 years’ imprisonment. The trial court entered judgment per the verdict.

Defendant appeals, averring the trial court erred in (1) receiving in evidence the testimony of defendant’s daughter, S-, wherein she narrated a “history of sexual and physical abuse” inflicted on her by defendant, (2) denying a request for mistrial when the prosecutor, on cross-examination, asked defendant whether he recalled saying he was afraid he was headed for jail, (3) striking a venireman for cause, and (4) giving MAI-CR 2d 2.20 [1984 Revision] defining reasonable doubt.

As the sufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict is unchallenged, we set forth only the evidence necessary to resolve the assignments of error.

[839]*839A_, the eldest of defendant’s 13 children by his present wife, L_,1 testified he (A_) was born November 5,1966, and that on August 23, 1985, the date of the alleged crime, he and his siblings were residing with defendant and L_ Around 1:00 or 2:00 a.m., defendant, according to A_, entered A_’s bedroom, clad only in undershorts, and carrying “a real long knife.” Defendant, age 55 at that time, stood six feet tall and weighed approximately 300 pounds. A_testified defendant told him to take off all his clothes and lie on the bed. A_quoted defendant as saying, “You cooperate with me or I will kill you.” A_obeyed defendant’s command. A_’s testimony:

“Q. What happened ... ?
A. He put his penis into my butt.
Q. All right. Now, do you know what sexual intercourse means?
A. Yes, I do.
Q. Is that what happened?
A. Yeah, that’s what happened.
Q. How long did he have his penis in your butt?
A. Fifteen or twenty minutes.
Q. And what happened at the end of that time period?
A. In that time period, after he took it out, he made me suck his penis.
[[Image here]]
Q. While this — while your father had his penis in you and while he had you suck him, did he say anything, did he make any comments?
A. He said don’t — after he got all done he said, ‘Don’t say anything to nobody or I’ll kill you.’
Q. While he was having sexual relations with you, where was the. knife?
A. Above my head.”

A_ recounted that defendant had come to his room about 1:00 a.m. the preceding date. A_’s testimony:

“Q. What happened on that occasion?
A. He had intercourse and oral sex.
Q. When you say intercourse, what are you saying?
A. My dad stuck his penis in my rear — into my butt.
Q. What did he say to you on this time?
A. This time he said — he come up to my room and he told me to take all my clothes off and he said, ‘I’m going to have sex with you,’ and he said, ‘I’ll kill you if you don’t cooperate.’
Q. Did he have anything else with him?
A. Yes, he had the knife with him.
Q. What sex did you have that day or that morning?
A. Oral sex and he stuck his penis into my butt.”

Asked how frequently such episodes occurred, A_ replied, “All week, it happened all week.” A_’s testimony:

“Q. Well, how often would it happen?
A. It happened once in the morning and once in the evening.
[[Image here]]
Q. And basically, on each of those occasions, how would it occur and what would happen?
A. Everything would just happen the same, both oral sex and he put his penis in my butt.
Q. And why did you submit on those occasions?
A. Because I was scared of my dad, I was threatened.”

A_left home the last week in August, 1985, and began residing with a couple he knew through his church. Asked why, A_explained, “Because I was tired of being sexually abused and child abuse.” A_'s testimony:

“Q. Did [defendant] ever do anything to you physically, other than sex?
A. Yes, he took pictures of me naked, and had some guy come in and take pictures.
[840]*840Q. Let’s go back. Do you recall when you first had any sex relations with your father?
A. Yes, I do.
Q. When was that?
A. That was when I was in the seventh grade.
[[Image here]]
Q. Would you describe to the jury what happened on the first occasion?
A. First when he came up to my room, he had this knife, the first time I ever seen this knife, carrying it, and when he come upstairs he told me to take all my clothes off and had sex with me, where he stuck his penis into my butt.
[[Image here]]
Q. Did he say anything to you during that?
A. He told me — he said, ‘Don’t repeat this or I’ll kill you, if I catch you saying anything to anybody.’
Q. When were the pictures taken?
A. They was taken while I was in the eighth or ninth grade.
Q. And when would your father take these pictures?
A. He would take them at night, some time at night, and sometimes during the daytime.
Q. When would he take them in relation to your sex — having sex with him?
A. He’d take the pictures, then about an hour after that he’d come up and have sex.
Q. And he would have you — would he have you pose or—
A. He would make me lie in bed and pose.
[[Image here]]
Q. How did you know how to pose?
A. Well, he told me how to do it.
Q. How often would your father take these pictures?
A. Quite a bit.
Q. Did your father ever strike you or hit you?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. When would that occur?
A. Quite a bit, maybe once a week or almost twice a day, maybe.”

A_disclosed that he had left home on an occasion previous to August, 1985.

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State v. V----C
734 S.W.2d 837 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1987)

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Bluebook (online)
734 S.W.2d 837, 1987 Mo. App. LEXIS 4190, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-v_-c-moctapp-1987.