United States v. Adams

63 M.J. 691, 2006 CCA LEXIS 152, 2006 WL 1966732
CourtArmy Court of Criminal Appeals
DecidedJuly 13, 2006
DocketARMY 20020004
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 63 M.J. 691 (United States v. Adams) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Army Court of Criminal Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Adams, 63 M.J. 691, 2006 CCA LEXIS 152, 2006 WL 1966732 (acca 2006).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

OLMSCHEID, Judge:

A general court-martial composed of officer and enlisted members convicted appel[688]*688lant, contrary to his pleas, of indecent acts with a female under the age of sixteen in violation of Article 134, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. § 934 [hereinafter UCMJ]. The convening authority approved the adjudged sentence of a dishonorable discharge, confinement for twelve months, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, reduction to Private El, and a reprimand. This ease is before this court for review pursuant to Article 66, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 866.

Appellant asserts, inter alia, that the military judge erred in allowing the government to introduce prior consistent statements made by the victim, CA, to her father and her best friend for the purpose of supporting the victim’s credibility. For the reasons discussed below, we agree that the military judge erred in admitting CA’s prior statements to her father, but find the error harmless.

BACKGROUND

Appellant was charged with committing an indecent act on or about 20 July 2001 upon the body of CA, a fourteen-year-old girl, by “touching her breasts and vaginal area and by placing her hand on his penis.” At the beginning of trial, the military judge indicated that, in a session pursuant to Rule for Courts-Martial 802, the parties had discussed the issue of “potential hearsay statements specifically, apparently [CA] after 20 July 2001 may have told individuals something which would be consistent with her in-court testimony regarding the allegation of indecent assault.” The military judge indicated that the issue would be addressed during the course of the trial, so no ruling had apparently been made.

During the government’s opening statement, the trial counsel did not focus on the prior consistent statements by CA, making only a single passing reference to them. In the defense opening statement, however, the defense counsel stated:

And ... she waited before telling her parents about her allegations for an entire week. And during that week, at home, her behavior was normal. She did tell her best friend and her boyfriend about her sexual experience, her alleged sexual experience. And then eventually, for whatever reason, she finally decided to tell her parents.

CA, the government’s first witness, testified that in the summer of 2001 she worked for the United States Army as a “summer hire,” or intern, at the gym in Buedingen, Germany. During her employment there, she met appellant, who also worked at the gym. CA said appellant talked with her and the other summer hires about things like music and movies. In particular, he talked with her about a movie she liked called “Save the Last Dance.” She also played basketball with appellant and he lifted weights with the other interns.

CA testified that she was fluent in German and appellant asked her to teach him the language. Appellant also asked her to come to his home and help him with his internet service because the instructions were in German. She stated appellant asked her to explain to his wife how the internet service worked so she could set it up. CA said she asked her parents if she could go to appellant’s residence and they said she could if appellant’s wife was going to be there.

Appellant picked CA up at the gym on 20 July 2001 around 1400 hours. She said she did not know that appellant was coming that particular day. CA testified that they did not really talk on the way to appellant’s residence, but just listened to music. They went to appellant’s residence and he showed her the living room. Even though CA said appellant had asked her to provide the explanation to his wife, appellant’s wife was not home at the time. CA stated that appellant had not told her that his wife would not be home before they arrived. He asked her if she wanted to watch the movie “Save the Last Dance.” He started the movie, showed her the computer, and gave her the instructions.

CA said she started to hook up the computer and explained to appellant how the internet worked. She testified that she talked to appellant for five to ten minutes and then he left the room. He offered her a drink and asked if she wanted anything to eat. CA alleged that when he came back, he [689]*689started massaging her neck and back. She said he then took off her shirt, still massaging her and she told him she did not “want that what he was doing.” She testified that he turned her around in the chair, pushed her bra down a little, and started kissing her breasts. CA stated that she told appellant to stop and that she had a boyfriend, but appellant told her “to try something” and put her hand on his erect penis. She testified that she immediately pulled her hand back.

CA said she got up, put her shirt back on, and started to walk to the door. CA alleged that at this point appellant unbuttoned and unzipped her pants and told her to pull them down. She testified that she was scared and complied by pulling her pants down to just over her knees. CA stated that appellant moved her underwear to the side and touched her vagina with his finger.

CA said she was more scared than before and told appellant she had to go. She pulled her pants back up and appellant went into the kitchen and got something. He took the keys and unlocked the door. CA said that on the way back to the gym, appellant asked her something, but she did not answer because she was still in shock. Appellant dropped her off at the back entrance and told her it would be their “little secret” and not to tell anyone.

The trial counsel asked CA if she had in fact told anyone what happened. CA answered, without objection, that she told her best friend, Anja, that same day; she told her now ex-boyfriend the next day; and she told her parents a week later. She explained that it took so long to tell her parents because she was scared that if she told somebody, something would happen to her. Her ex-boyfriend encouraged her to tell her parents and the police.

During cross-examination, CA said she had eaten lunch with appellant while they worked together and that she had voluntarily gone to his residence on her personal time. She admitted she did not immediately tell appellant to stop massaging her, she did not scream or run away, and she did not ask the security guards at the installation gate for help when she and appellant passed through. The defense counsel also elicited from CA that she continued to work at the gym for three to five more days after the incident allegedly occurred, despite the fact that appellant still worked there. In response to questions by the defense counsel, CA confirmed she had told her best friend and ex-boyfriend about what happened. CA also agreed that her parents would not approve, and she might get into trouble, if she had made a “sexual advance at an older man.”

The government next called CA’s father, Mr. A, as a witness. He testified that, on 27 July 2001, CA said she did not want to go to work. The defense counsel objected twice to testimony about what CA told her parents, asserting that the testimony constituted inadmissible hearsay. The military judge overruled both objections. Mr. A testified that CA said appellant made her touch him over his pants and he thought she said appellant grabbed her on the shoulders “or something like that.”

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
63 M.J. 691, 2006 CCA LEXIS 152, 2006 WL 1966732, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-adams-acca-2006.