State v. Young

808 P.2d 429, 119 Idaho 510, 1991 Ida. App. LEXIS 65
Idaho Court of Appeals·Decided March 26, 1991·No. 18750·Published·Cited by 76 cases

Opinions

WALTERS, Chief Judge.

Susan Kaye Young was arrested and charged with lewd conduct with a minor under the age of sixteen. She pled guilty. After a hearing, the district court sentenced her to a term of twelve-years incarceration, with a minimum period of confinement of two and one-half years. Young moved the court under I.C.R. 35 to reduce her sentence to probation with counseling and treatment. Her motion was denied. Young appeals, arguing that the district court erred when it denied her motion. We affirm the denial of Young’s motion and her sentence.

Standard of Review

A motion to reduce a sentence under I.C.R. 35 is essentially a plea for leniency, addressed to the sound discretion of the sentencing court. State v. Allbee, 115 Idaho 845, 771 P.2d 66 (Ct.App.1989). This Court will not disturb the sentencing court’s decision regarding a request to reduce a sentence unless an abuse of discretion is shown. Id. On appeal, we consider the entire record and apply the same criteria used for determining the reasonableness of the original sentence. Id.

A sentence is reasonable if it appears to accomplish the objective of protecting the good order of society and is imposed to achieve any or all of the related goals of deterrence, rehabilitation or retribution. State v. Toohill, 103 Idaho 565, 650 P.2d 707 (Ct.App.1982). A sentence of confinement that is longer than necessary to serve these goals is unreasonable. Id. When evaluating a sentence imposed under the Unified Sentencing Act, I.C. § 19-2513, the minimum fixed period generally will be treated as the probable measure of confinement for the purpose of sentence review. State v. Sanchez, 115 Idaho 776, 769 P.2d 1148 (Ct.App.1989). We note that a sentence fixed within the limits prescribed by statute ordinarily will not be considered an abuse of discretion. State v. Nice, 103 Idaho 89, 645 P.2d 323 (1982). The maximum sentence for lewd conduct with a minor under the age of sixteen is life. Young’s sentence does not exceed that maximum. However, when a sentence is questioned on appeal, we will examine the circumstances of each case to determine whether the punishment imposed is reasonable or excessive. State v. Shideler, 103 Idaho 593, 651 P.2d 527 (1982). When reviewing a sentence, we examine the facts in the record independently and focus on the nature of the offense and the character of the offender. State v. Reinke, 103 Idaho 771, 653 P.2d 1183 (Ct.App.1982).

Facts

Young’s conviction and sentence are products of a body painting episode she had with her thirteen-year-old son. According to Young, she wanted to teach her son about the parts of the female body so that he would not grow up with the same “misconceptions” and “misinformation” about the female body that she had lived with. She discussed the activity with her husband and together they planned the activity. During the episode, Young sat naked on her bed with her clothed son on one side of her and her husband, who was wearing a robe, on the other. The two males spread body paint over Young’s body. At different times the son was persuaded to touch Young’s breast and vagina, and to insert his fingers into her vagina. After they were finished the males gave Young a sponge bath.

Young stated that she was not aware that she had done anything wrong and that she would have stopped if her son had said he was uncomfortable. She also said that she intended the episode to be educational, not molestation.

Discussion

Young asserts several factors she says weigh in favor of reducing her sentence, but which, allegedly, the district court did not properly consider. These factors are that Young, who was 31 when she was arrested, had never before been in trouble with the law. When arrested, she [512]*512cooperated fully with the authorities. She has always worked, provided for her children, and tried to contribute to society. She claims that she was sexually abused when she was eleven and thirteen years old, and that thereafter she abused alcohol and other substances until she turned nineteen, when she joined Alcoholics Anonymous. She has been a substance abuse counselor for several years. Further, she has expressed remorse for her act, has vowed not to repeat it, and seeks treatment.

All of this information was presented to the court when it pronounced its sentence and later when it denied Young’s motion to reduce. ■ Unfortunately, so was countervailing negative information. The presentence investigation report includes information that Young and her husband had previously watched sexually explicit movies with their minor children, that they had made home movies in which they engaged in sexual acts, and then had shown the movies to at least the son. Also, there is evidence to suggest that the parents had engaged in sexual acts in front of their children after encouraging them to watch. The report states that Young and her husband were openly nude in front of their children, and that the son had been made the brunt of sexual jokes concerning his looks and future sexual performance.

Young stated that she and her husband were “open” about nudity and sex with the children because they did not want the children to be ignorant or ashamed of the human body or sex. It is not necessary for this Court to conclude whether Young’s openness was truly meant to be instructive or whether it was a guise for more prurient desires. Also, we are mindful that it is not the province of the judiciary to regulate lifestyles when they do not involve criminal activity. However, in this case, Young’s body painting exercise fell into the criminal area and produced the charge of lewd conduct with her son, to which she pled guilty. It was within the district court’s discretion to consider any facts that would place Young’s crime in context and to weigh those facts in sentencing. Considering the above information, the court seemed to treat the charged episode as the apogee of a generally sexually abusive atmosphere in Young’s home. Looking at the same information, we cannot disagree.

The presentence investigation report also included the report of Dr. Mowry, Clinical Psychologist. After evaluating Young, Dr. Mowry found that she may be an appropriate candidate for a sexual abuse treatment program. However, he said his conclusion was “guarded” because Young had been a substance abuse counselor and he felt that she already knew enough about the sexual abuse treatment program that it might not teach her much that would be new to her. Moreover, he expressed concern that the knowledge Young gained as a substance abuse counselor would allow her to progress prematurely through a treatment program because she would “know what to say.” Dr. Mowry recommended a period of incarceration before treatment was provided. The presentence investigator also recommended incarceration.

The court referred to Young’s activities as a substance abuse counselor in its order denying her motion to reduce her sentence. As a counselor she had encouraged the people she was counseling to speak about any sexual abuse that they might have suffered in the past.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

State v. Young, 808 P.2d 429, 119 Idaho 510, 1991 Ida. App. LEXIS 65 (Idaho Ct. App. 1991).

808 P.2d 429 (State v. Young) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

State v. John Joseph Marr
Idaho Court of Appeals, 2013
State v. Warren Nanney
Idaho Court of Appeals, 2010
State v. Adams
216 P.3d 146 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2009)
State of Idaho v. Ethan Allen Windom
Idaho Court of Appeals, 2009
State v. Stone
208 P.3d 734 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2009)
State v. Wright
206 P.3d 856 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2009)
State v. Chacon
198 P.3d 749 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2008)
State v. Izaguirre
186 P.3d 676 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2008)
State v. Perez
179 P.3d 346 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2008)
State v. Davis
159 P.3d 913 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2007)
State v. Griffith
161 P.3d 675 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2007)
State v. Allen
141 P.3d 1136 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2006)
State v. Fisch
133 P.3d 1246 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2006)
State v. Leon
132 P.3d 462 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2006)
State v. Helms
137 P.3d 466 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2006)
State v. Armstrong
122 P.3d 321 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2005)
State v. Martin
122 P.3d 317 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2005)
State v. Jones
115 P.3d 764 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2005)
State v. Steele
109 P.3d 1122 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2005)
State v. Marsh
119 P.3d 637 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2004)