United States v. Hays

62 M.J. 158, 2005 CAAF LEXIS 1108, 2005 WL 2452562
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Armed Forces
DecidedSeptember 30, 2005
Docket04-0264/AR
StatusPublished
Cited by37 cases

This text of 62 M.J. 158 (United States v. Hays) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Hays, 62 M.J. 158, 2005 CAAF LEXIS 1108, 2005 WL 2452562 (Ark. 2005).

Opinions

Judge EFFRON

delivered the opinion of the Court.

At a general court-martial composed of a military judge sitting alone, Appellant was convicted, pursuant to mixed pleas, of disobeying a superior officer (two specifications); violating a general regulation; violating the Child Pornography Prevention Act (CPPA), 18 U.S.C. § 2252A (2000) (four specifications); soliciting another to rape a child; and false swearing, in violation of Articles 90, 92, and 134, Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), 10 U.S.C. §§ 890, 892, 934 (2000), respectively. The adjudged sentence included a dishonorable discharge, confinement for ten years, total forfeiture of pay and allowances, and reduction to the lowest enlisted grade. The convening authority approved the sentence and granted Appellant ninety-nine days of confinement credit.

In an unpublished opinion, the United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals disapproved the finding of guilty for soliciting the rape of a child but approved a finding of guilty to the lesser offense of soliciting another person to commit the offense of carnal knowledge. The court affirmed the remaining findings of guilt, reassessed the sentence, and affirmed only so much of the sentence as provided for a dishonorable discharge, confinement for 114 months, total forfeiture of pay and allowances, and reduction to the lowest enlisted grade. United States v. Hays, No. ARMY 20001100 (A. Ct. Crim. App. Jan. 22, 2004).

On Appellant’s petition, we granted review of the following four issues:

I. WHETHER THE ARMY COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS ERRED IN AFFIRMING A FINDING OF GUILTY OF SOLICITATION OF CARNAL KNOWLEDGE WHERE: (1) THE COURT USED AN OVERBROAD DEFINITION OF SOLICITATION; AND (2) THE EVIDENCE WAS LEGALLY INSUFFICIENT TO SUPPORT A FINDING THAT APPELLANT SOLICITED “JOHN D_” TO COMMIT CARNAL KNOWLEDGE BECAUSE APPELLANT’S ACTS DID NOT AMOUNT TO SOLICITATION.
II. WHETHER THE ARMY COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS ERRED IN AFFIRMING A CONVICTION OF SOLICITATION OF CARNAL KNOWLEDGE WHERE: (1) THE COURT RELIED ON ERRONEOUSLY INTRODUCED EVIDENCE OF UNCHARGED MISCONDUCT; (2) THE COURT RELIED ON IMPROPER EXPERT TESTIMONY WHICH WAS UNHELPFUL AND AMOUNTED TO INADMISSIBLE PROFILE EVIDENCE AND LEGAL OPINIONS; AND (3) THE COURT MISTAKENLY DETERMINED THAT THE COMBINED IMPACT OF THE ERRONEOUSLY ADMITTED EXHIBITS AND THE IMPROPER EXPERT TESTIMONY WOULD NOT HAVE CHANGED THE MILITARY JUDGE’S DETERMINATION OF GUILT AT TRIAL.
III. WHETHER THE ARMY COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS ERRED IN FINDING THAT APPELLANT’S PLEAS OF GUILTY TO [CHILD PORNOGRAPHY OFFENSES UNDER] SPECIFICATIONS 1, 2, 3, AND 4 OF CHARGE IV WERE PROVIDENT WHERE: (1) THE MILITARY JUDGE’S DEFINITION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY INCLUDED COMPUTER-GENERATED IMAGES, A DEFINITION THE SUPREME COURT FOUND UNCONSTITUTIONAL; AND (2) THE MILITARY JUDGE DID NOT CONDUCT AN ADEQUATE PROVIDENCE INQUIRY AS REQUIRED BY UNITED STATES v. CARE, 18 C.M.A. 535, 40 C.M.R. 247 (1969), AND ITS PROGENY TO ESTABLISH THAT APPELLANT BELIEVED THE IMAGES WERE PRODUCED USING REAL CHILDREN.
[161]*161IV. WHETHER THE FINDINGS OF GUILTY TO DISTRIBUTION, RECEIPT, AND POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY IN VIOLATION OF 18 U.S.C. §§ 2252A(a)(l)-(2), (2), AND (5)(a), RESPECTIVELY, MUST BE SET ASIDE BECAUSE THOSE STATUTES DO NOT APPLY TO CONDUCT ENGAGED IN OUTSIDE THE TERRITORIAL LIMITS OF THE UNITED STATES WHEN CHARGED UNDER CLAUSE 3 OF ARTICLE 134, UCMJ.

For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeals, subject to modification of the child pornography convictions as set forth in the decretal paragraph.

I. BACKGROUND

While investigating suspected child pornography offenses, an agent of the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID) searched the e-mail accounts of a soldier stationed in Korea. In the course of the search, one of the accounts received an online message from a person identified as “P[ ]13.” The agent entered into an online conversation with “P[ ]13.” During the online conversation, “P[ ]13” expressed an interest in sexually explicit pictures of girls between the ages of four and eight. As the search of the initial suspect’s e-mail accounts continued, “P[]13” sent two more e-mails with attachments containing sexually explicit photographs of children and adults.

Based on information in the e-mails, CID identified Appellant, who was stationed in Germany, as “P[]13.” CID then searched Appellant’s e-mail accounts and U.S. Government-owned computers in the library on Vilseck Air Base in Germany. CID also collected discs located in Appellant’s household goods. The information obtained from these searches provided the primary evidence for the charges at issue in the present appeal.

II. SOLICITATION TO COMMIT CARNAL KNOWLEDGE (ISSUES I AND II)

Appellant was prosecuted under Article 134, UCMJ, for soliciting JD to rape a nine-year-old child. The offense has three elements:

(1) That the accused solicited or advised a certain person or persons to commit a certain offense under the code other than one of the four offenses named in Article 82;
(2) That the accused did so with the intent that the offense actually be committed; and
(3) That, under the circumstances, the conduct of the accused was to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces or was of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces.

Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2002 ed.) (MCM), pt. IV, U 105.b.

At trial, the prosecution introduced e-mails that were sent and received by Appellant discussing the exchange of child pornography and pictures. Some of the e-mails included pictures of children and adults exposed and engaged in sexually explicit behavior. The charge of solicitation to commit rape was based primarily on an e-mail message in which Appellant wrote the following to JD, a person apparently known to Appellant only over the internet:

I was hoping that you would send me some more good pix before I left____ I hope that everything is working out with your 9 yo. Have you f***** her yet? If so, [d]o you have pix? ... Man you are not going to believe it when I adopt that little girl and send you pix of me and her as I promised. I am going to do everything to her that you can imagine. And you will be the first to see, I promise you that much. I hope that you can find it in your heart to send me more pix as you have in the past week or so. If you send me more pix, I will be eternally grateful, and reward you greatly. Please send me more!!

The court below concluded that this statement did not establish Appellant’s intent that JD commit rape by force, but that it was factually sufficient to prove the lesser included offense of soliciting JD to commit the offense of carnal knowledge. In Issues I and II, Appellant raises four challenges to the solicitation conviction, as modified by the [162]

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
62 M.J. 158, 2005 CAAF LEXIS 1108, 2005 WL 2452562, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-hays-armfor-2005.