Thompson v. State

761 N.E.2d 467, 2002 Ind. App. LEXIS 25, 2002 WL 57285
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 16, 2002
Docket49A04-0103-CR-107
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 761 N.E.2d 467 (Thompson v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thompson v. State, 761 N.E.2d 467, 2002 Ind. App. LEXIS 25, 2002 WL 57285 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

OPINION

RILEY, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Appellant-Defendant, Bill C. Thompson (Thompson), appeals his conviction of sexual battery, a Class D felony, Ind.Code § 35-42-4-8. Thompson also appeals the sentence imposed on him by the trial court.

We reverse and remand.

ISSUES

Thompson raises the following issues on appeal, which we restate as follows:

1. Whether the trial court erred in finding sexual battery to be a lesser-included offense of rape.

2. Whether Thompson was denied eredit for all the time he had served prior to his sentencing.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On May 9, 1998, the victim (TM.) and a male friend, Kelly Reed (Reed), moved into Kathryn Trent's (Trent) apartment. On that same day, TM. met Thompson, who was also residing at Trent's apartment. TM. testified that later that night, as she slept on the sofa, she felt "soft kisses" on her face and her shorts and underwear were removed. (R. 80). TM. also testified that, at first, she thought it was Reed doing these things to her, but when she realized that it was Thompson, he was already on top of her. According to her testimony, TM. told Thompson "no." (R. 82). However, Thompson placed his hand over T.M.'s mouth and told her to be quiet. After that, T.M. testified that she "froze" and thought Thompson was "going to hit" her. (R. 32). Thompson pinned TM. to the sofa with his body weight while he took off his jeans and inserted his penis into her vagina.

Afterward, TM. testified that she got up and went to Trent's bedroom. She told Trent that Thompson had raped her. TM. and Trent left the apartment, drove to a restaurant, and the police were contacted. TM. was taken to a hospital and examined.

On October 6, 1999, the State filed an information against Thompson, charging him with rape, a Class B felony, Ind.Code § 35-42-4-1. On October 31, 2000, the State filed a motion to amend the information to add a date and include Thompson's name. On November 1, 2000, the motion to amend was granted. On December 4, 2000, Thompson and the State waived a trial by jury, and a bench trial was held. The trial court found Thompson not guilty of rape, but did find him guilty of sexual battery as a lesser-included offense of rape.

*469 On January 5, 2001, a presentence investigation report (PST) was filed. On January 9, 2001, a sentencing hearing was held. Thompson was sentenced to:

Three years in the Department of Corrections [sic], two of those years will be suspended, first six months will be in the Marion County Jail. You have to do a total of ninety days, you have fifty in, got forty left, balance of six months will be on home detention. You'll be placed on probation for the suspended period which is two years.

(R. 208). On February 8, 2001, Thompson filed a Motion to Correct Errors, which the court denied on February 15, 2001.

This appeal followed. Additional facts will be supplied as necessary.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

I. Sexual Battery as Lesser-Included Offense of Rape

Thompson was charged with rape, but he was convicted of sexual battery as a lesser-included offense. Thompson argues that the trial court erred in finding sexual battery to be a lesser-included offense of rape. We agree.

Ind.Code § 35-42-4-1 provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

(a) ... a person who knowingly or intentionally has sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex when:
(1) the other person is compelled by force or imminent threat of force; commits rape, a Class B felony.

Ind.Code § 35-42-4-8 provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

(a) ... a person who, with intent to arouse or satisfy the person's own sexual desires or the sexual desires of another person, touches another person when that person is:
(1) compelled to submit to the touching by force or imminent threat of force; opr ... '
commits sexual battery, a Class D felony.

In order for sexual battery to be a lesser-included offense of rape, according to Ind.Code § 85-41-1-16, it must be "established by proof of the same material elements or less than all the material elements required to establish the commission of the offense charged." A review of these statutes reveals that each crime contains an element that the other does not, thereby excluding sexual battery as a lesser-included offense of rape.

Sexual battery requires a touching with the intent to arouse or satisfy one's own sexual desires or those of his victim, which is not required for rape. See Ind. Code § 35-42-4-8; Ind.Code § 85-42-4-1. This element was not proven by sufficient evidence at trial. Nowhere in the record or in the amended information charging Thompson with rape was it stated that Thompson touched T.M. with the intent to arouse or satisfy his own sexual desires or those of TM.

Furthermore, in Scrougham v. State, 564 N.E.2d 542, 546 (Ind.App.Ct.1990), trans. denied, this court held that sexual battery is not a lesser-included offense of rape. Granted, we recognize that Scroug-ham is considered impliedly overruled. In Griffin v. State, 583 N.E.2d 191, 195-196 (Ind.Ct.App.1991), reh'g denied, this court held that "Inasmuch as child molesting as fondling and touching with intent to gratify includes all the same elements of sexual battery, the applicability of Bowling [v. State, 560 N.E.2d 658 (Ind.1990)] and Watkins [v. State, 571 N.E.2d 1262 (Ind.Ct.App.1991) ] are apparent as is the implicit overruling of Serougham." However, as Thompson points out, and we agree, Scrougham appears to be impliedly over *470 ruled on grounds that do not change the rule of law stated above. Moreover, we must note that there is no case law that explicitly overrules Serougham in its holding that sexual battery is not a lesser included offense of rape.

Additionally, "it is well-established that due process requires that a defendant be given notice of the crime or crimes with which he is charged so that he can prepare his defense.

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Bluebook (online)
761 N.E.2d 467, 2002 Ind. App. LEXIS 25, 2002 WL 57285, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thompson-v-state-indctapp-2002.