State v. Wilson

948 N.E.2d 515, 192 Ohio App. 3d 189
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 14, 2011
DocketNo. 2010-P-0005
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 948 N.E.2d 515 (State v. Wilson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio 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. Wilson, 948 N.E.2d 515, 192 Ohio App. 3d 189 (Ohio Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

Diane V. Grendell, Judge.

{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Bradford Wilson, appeals his convictions for attempted voyeurism and voyeurism following trial in Portage County Municipal Court, Ravenna Division. The court sentenced Wilson to an aggregate jail term of 120 days. For the following reasons, we affirm the decision of the court below.

{¶ 2} On March 18, 2008, Wilson was indicted by the Portage County Grand Jury on one count of attempted voyeurism, a misdemeanor of the first degree in [192]*192violation of R.C. 2923.02, for conduct that, if successful, would have constituted a violation of R.C. 2907.08(D)(1) and (E)(4), and one count of voyeurism, a misdemeanor of the third degree in violation of R.C. 2907.08(A) and (E)(2).

{¶ 3} The matter proceeded to a bench trial.

{¶ 4} V.B. (a minor at the time of the offenses) testified that in January 2008, she was living at 4805 Wayne Road, in Mantua Township, Ohio, with Wilson (her stepfather), Ellen Mary Wilson (her mother), and three younger siblings. At this time, V.B. was a senior at Crestwood High School.

{¶ 5} In August 2007, Ellen Mary Wilson began employment in Pennsylvania, which required her to be away from home during the work week. V.B. testified that her relationship with Wilson had always been awkward. After her mother began staying in Pennsylvania during the week days, Wilson’s demeanor toward her became friendlier, while his discipline became stricter.

{¶ 6} In September or October 2007, V.B. testified that Wilson hung her underwear on a wall tapestry in their living room and later asked her if she had received his present. She thought this conduct was “weird” but put her underwear away without doing anything more.

{¶ 7} After this, V.B. testified that she found a pornographic VHS tape on her bed. Since she had seen Wilson watch pornography, she returned the tape to him. V.B. testified that the tape reappeared on her bed, and again, she returned it to Wilson. According to V.B., this scenario happened regularly for about three weeks, until she put the tape away in her desk drawer.

{¶ 8} About a week after Christmas 2007, V.B. found a vibrator in blue wrapping paper on her desk. A day or two later, Wilson asked her whether she had received the present. She responded, “yes,” and the matter was not discussed further. V.B. showed the vibrator to her friend, Kristi Levanduski, and told the students at her school lunch table about it.

{¶ 9} V.B. also testified that throughout this period, she would regularly hear Wilson going down into the basement while she showered, as the wooden steps leading to the basement were next to the shower. V.B. testified she knew the footsteps were Wilson’s because they were heavy and he wore work boots, while her next-youngest sibling would have been only ten years old at the time.

{¶ 10} Wilson’s conduct made V.B. suspicious that he might be watching her.

{¶ 11} On January 28, 2008, V.B. returned home with her friend, Levanduski, and they searched her bedroom. In an air vent, about a foot from the ceiling, they found a camera. V.B. testified that the flutes of this vent faced downward, whereas the flutes of other vents were turned upward. They next investigated the shower. Levanduski went in the shower with a flashlight and V.B. went to [193]*193the basement, only five steps below the main floor of the house. Wilson has a work bench in the basement, which stands next to a wall shared with the shower upstairs. A piece of material was hanging on the wall, but V.B. could see a light behind it. When she removed the material she found a hole, just below eye level, that allowed her to see Levanduski in the shower.

{¶ 12} V.B. called her paternal grandmother, and Levanduski took pictures of the camera and the hole in the shower with her cell phone. The women packed a bag of clothes for V.B., and they went to Levanduski’s house. Sheriffs deputies arrived at the Levanduski residence, and V.B. and Levanduski made written statements.

{¶ 13} V.B. testified that she had been grounded recently for excessive cellphone usage and for receiving poor grades on her interim report. V.B. admitted that by Christmas 2007, she knew the family would be moving to Pennsylvania. V.B. was vocal in expressing her unwillingness to move and said she would do whatever it takes not to move.

{¶ 14} Levanduski testified and corroborated V.B.’s testimony regarding the discovery of the camera in the bedroom vent and the hole in the shower. Levanduski’s testimony differed in certain particulars. According to Levanduski, she was in the basement looking at V.B. through the hole. Levanduski confirmed that V.B. had told her about Wilson’s behavior and showed her the vibrator prior to the discovery of the camera and hole on January 28, 2008.

{¶ 15} Matthew L. Skilton, a deputy sheriff with the Portage County Sheriffs Department, testified that on January 28, 2008, he responded to a call of “suspicious activity” by visiting V.B. at the Levanduski residence. Skilton took written statements from V.B. and Levanduski and met with Detective DJ Walker, also of the Portage County Sheriffs Department. Skilton and Walker obtained a search warrant before proceeding to the Wilson residence.

{¶ 16} Deputy Skilton testified that Wilson did not appear surprised when he and Detective Walker arrived to execute the warrant. Wilson had already dismantled the camera and had it lying on the table with various power cords. At the officers’ request, Wilson went into the attic and dismantled a converter box, which was part of the system that allowed Wilson to view what the camera was transmitting from the television set. Wilson explained that he installed the camera because V.B.’s grades were dropping and he thought something was going on with her. Wilson also claimed V.B. would arrive home late from work. According to Skilton, Wilson said he did not suspect drug or alcohol abuse, but could not say exactly what he suspected V.B. of doing.

{¶ 17} Initially, Deputy Skilton was unable to locate the hole in the shower. After speaking with V.B. by cell phone, he went to the basement and found the [194]*194piece of cloth on the wall, covering the hole. Skilton testified that the hole had recently been covered by caulk, which was still wet and tacky. Skilton wiped the caulk away and was able to see into the shower. In particular, he could view Detective Walker in the shower from his knees to his head. Skilton described the hole as being at least one-eighth of an inch thick, about the size of a pencil, and perfectly round as if it had been drilled.

{¶ 18} Deputy Skilton testified that Wilson explained the caulk by claiming that there had been problems with the shower leaking water. Wilson denied using the hole to watch V.B. while showering. Wilson denied ever seeing V.B. in a state of undress in her bedroom, claiming that he would turn the camera off if he thought she might be naked. Wilson also claimed that giving V.B. the vibrator was a mistake, and that it had been intended for his wife.

{¶ 19} Detective Walker corroborated Deputy Skilton’s testimony regarding the hole in the shower and Wilson’s explanation of the camera and vibrator. Walker testified that Wilson denied making any recordings using the camera because he did not know how to record and/or because the recording device was not hooked up to the television. Walker also testified that he and Skilton took photographs of V.B.’s bedroom, the shower, and the basement.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
948 N.E.2d 515, 192 Ohio App. 3d 189, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-wilson-ohioctapp-2011.