State v. Yossett

956 So. 2d 109, 2007 WL 1203710
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 25, 2007
Docket41,926-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 956 So. 2d 109 (State v. Yossett) 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. Yossett, 956 So. 2d 109, 2007 WL 1203710 (La. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

956 So.2d 109 (2007)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee
v.
Benny YOSSETT, Jr., Appellant.

No. 41,926-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

April 25, 2007.

*112 Larrion L. Hillman, G. Paul Marx, Lafayette, for Appellant.

J. Schuyler Marvin, District Attorney, C. Sherburne Sentell, III, Assistant District Attorney, for Appellee.

Before WILLIAMS, DREW and MOORE, JJ.

WILLIAMS, Judge.

The defendant, Benny Yossett, Jr., was charged by bill of information with two counts of sexual battery (LSA-R.S. 14:43.1); two counts of oral sexual battery (LSA-R.S. 14:43.3); two counts of molestation of a juvenile (LSA-R.S. 14:81.2); two counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile (LSA-R.S. 14:81); and two counts of aggravated incest (LSA-R.S. 14:78.1). All of the charges involved defendant's alleged abuse of his two sons. After a trial, the jury found defendant guilty as charged on all ten counts. The trial court imposed consecutive ten-year sentences at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence on each of the first four counts, consecutive ten-year hard labor sentences for each of counts five and six, five years at hard labor for each of counts seven and eight, to run concurrently with each other, but consecutively with counts one to six and consecutive 20-year hard labor sentences for each of counts nine and ten. Defendant appeals his convictions and sentences. For the following reasons, we affirm.

FACTS

The evidence presented at trial shows that defendant married Brenda in February 1992 and three children were born of the marriage. The first child was a son, M.A.Y., born in March 1992. A second son, A.S.Y., was born in April 1993 and a third child, a daughter, was also born. Brenda separated from the defendant in 1997 or 1998, but they were not divorced. Between 1999 and 2001, Brenda lived in Shreveport and had legal custody of the children. The defendant, who lived in a trailer home in Webster Parish, exercised his parental visitation rights every other weekend.

Brenda's landlord, Lona, sometimes helped out by watching the children. Lona also disciplined the children by having them "write lines," and then later, essays or letters about various topics. One of the subjects Lona asked the children to write about was their activities when they visited their father. She usually glanced at and then put away the essays/letters without reading them. Lona noted at trial that A.S.Y.'s older brother M.A.Y. did not know how to write at that time. M.A.Y. has a low I.Q., suffers from severe learning disabilities and is a special education student.

Between 1999 and 2001, M.A.Y., began "acting out" sexually after his visits with his father. His behavior included exposing himself and having sex with his young sister. He was six years old when this behavior began. Lona discovered the children having sex among themselves and disciplined them. The excessive sexual behavior made Lona suspicious and she finally asked A.S.Y. if anyone had ever molested *113 him. A.S.Y. answered affirmatively and replied, "My father." Lona told A.S.Y. that he needed to write the whole thing down on paper. She reported the sexual abuse to Brenda and pressured Brenda to contact the authorities. Brenda, who was hesitant at first because she needed the child support, eventually contacted the child protection agency. The children were temporarily removed from her home. A.S.Y.'s writings revealed details of oral and group sex involving the defendant, A.S.Y., M.A.Y. and other males, and also described anal sexual intercourse involving himself and the defendant.

Caddo Parish Juvenile Probation Officer Karen Baird conducted an investigation of M.A.Y.'s bizarre behavior, which included "acting-out," explicit and excessive sexual activity, head-banging and aggression. Baird learned that M.A.Y. had recently disclosed the sexual abuse perpetrated against him by his father, the defendant. Baird interviewed M.A.Y., who specifically stated that defendant made him perform oral sex. Baird opined that M.A.Y.'s behavior was consistent with that exhibited by victims of sexual abuse. Based on Baird's experience and training, she found M.A.Y.'s statements to her to be truthful and consistent. Baird confirmed that her investigation revealed that the sexual abuse of M.A.Y. also included abuse perpetrated by the 14-year-old "stepson" of the defendant and a man named "Mr. Robbins."

Both of the defendant's sons testified against him at trial. M.A.Y., who was 13 years old at the time of trial, described in detail what transpired when he and his siblings visited the defendant, their father, at his trailer on weekends. M.A.Y. testified that the defendant would make him and his brother perform oral sex on him and defendant would also perform oral sex on them. M.A.Y. stated that this sexual activity would occur in different locations inside the trailer and sometimes other adults would participate, but he could not remember the names of the other adults. M.A.Y. testified that sometimes with defendant he and his brother watched movies showing naked people having sex. He stated that the defendant threatened to hit him and his brother with a hammer on their knees if they ever told anyone. M.A.Y. related that all of the sexual activity stopped when Lona found out about him having sex with his sister. He assured the court that nobody told him what to say, and that he was telling the truth. On cross-examination, M.A.Y. could not remember the exact time frame when this activity occurred, but thought that the abuse began when he was in kindergarten.

Twelve-year-old A.S.Y. made an in-court identification of the defendant as his father. A.S.Y. explained that the "bad things" all started when the defendant entered the boys' room at night during their weekend visits to his trailer. A.S.Y. testified that on those occasions, the defendant was naked, told them to take off their clothes and then forced them to perform oral sex. A.S.Y. stated that more than once the defendant stuck his penis in A.S.Y.'s rectum. A.S.Y. testified that this abuse occurred almost every weekend the children visited the defendant at his trailer and that he showed them movies about naked people having sex. A.S.Y. stated that a male friend of the defendant, Paul Robbins, who also lived in the trailer for a time, participated in having oral and anal sex with the boys. A.S.Y. testified that the defendant threatened to kill him if he ever told anyone and also threatened to hit his knees with a hammer. A.S.Y. related that he eventually told Lona about the sex with the defendant. A.S.Y. made an in-court identification of the letters as those he had written detailing what had transpired at the defendant's trailer. His were *114 the only letters introduced at trial. A.S.Y. stated that he did not need to read his writings to refresh his memory of what had happened, that he had written and testified truthfully, and that no one had coached him regarding his testimony.

In a multiple-count indictment, the defendant was charged with committing a total of ten sexual crimes against his two male children, A.S.Y. and M.A.Y., during the years of 1999 through 2001, including two counts each of sexual battery, oral sexual battery, molestation of a juvenile, indecent behavior with a juvenile, and aggravated incest. A unanimous six-person jury found defendant guilty as charged on all ten counts. The defense filed motions for new trial and post-verdict judgment of acquittal, which were denied. The trial court sentenced the defendant as follows:

COUNT ONE; sexual battery of A.S.Y. (R.S.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
956 So. 2d 109, 2007 WL 1203710, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-yossett-lactapp-2007.