United States v. Rhea

29 M.J. 991, 1990 WL 7257
CourtU S Air Force Court of Military Review
DecidedJanuary 19, 1990
DocketACM 27563
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 29 M.J. 991 (United States v. Rhea) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U S Air Force Court of Military Review primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Rhea, 29 M.J. 991, 1990 WL 7257 (usafctmilrev 1990).

Opinion

DECISION

HODGSON, Chief Judge:

Yvonne1 Rhea is the appellant’s stepdaughter and was born in Thailand on 26 November 1967. She has no recollection of her natural father, who was a Thai national, and lived with her maternal grandparents in a small village until she was nine years old. In January 1976, while sta[993]*993tioned in Thailand, the appellant married Yvonne’s mother. Yvonne left Thailand in 1977 and joined her mother and the appellant at Charleston Air Force Base. Three years later the appellant was assigned to Homestead Air Force Base. Yvonne was happy living in America because she lived so much better here than in her grandparents’ village. Additionally, the appellant was good to her and gave her “about anything [she] wanted.”

The area around Homestead has a large Thai community and when Yvonne’s mother was not working, she spent considerable time away from the house with her Thai friends. In 1980, when Yvonne was thirteen, the appellant began to lie in bed with her, and tickle and french kiss her. Later, he began caressing her breasts, stating he was examining her for cancer.

Between December 1984 and July 1985, while he was stationed at Homestead, the appellant began to have sexual intercourse with his stepdaughter. This happened on numerous occasions and always started the same way — they would begin making the bed and the appellant would begin kissing his stepdaughter. He would have her disrobe and they would get into bed together nude. Ultimately, they would have sexual intercourse. Yvonne testified that she told him she did not want to have sexual relations, but he would plead and argue with her interminably and eventually “would still have his way.” The sexual intercourse occurred when Yvonne’s mother was not at home. She never told her mother what the appellant was doing because they were not close, and she was fearful that her mother “would try to kill [the appellant] or something like that. She would have gone crazy.” Further, she feared that if her stepfather’s conduct were discovered she would be sent to a foster home or back to Thailand.

During the summer of 1985, the appellant was reassigned to Sembach Air Base, Federal Republic of Germany. His wife, Yvonne’s mother, indicated she was not going to accompany him to Germany and she moved into an apartment. Initially, Yvonne decided to remain with her mother, but she changed her mind when the appellant promised they would live separate lives like father and daughter and he would not touch her sexually. He kept his promise during the move and for the first several months after they arrived in Germany. However, in October, just before his heart attack, the appellant renewed his sexual demands and again began having sexual relations with his stepdaughter. When she reminded the appellant of his promise, he said “[I] need [you] to do things for me [and] ... when [I] get [my] heart surgery done ... [I will not] need [you] any more.” Once again Yvonne initially refused to have sexual intercourse with the appellant, but his incessant jawboning lead her to give in to his demands rather than face a continuing argument.

In January 1986, the appellant travelled to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C. for heart surgery. His stepdaughter accompanied him, and the two of them returned to Germany in late February. About a month later, the appellant again requested sexual favors from his stepdaughter saying that, “he couldn’t help it ... [and] he needed [her] to do this.” Sometimes when she asked him not to, he would not, but would, instead, start to cry. During this period, in addition to sexual intercourse, he had her commit fellatio on him and masturbate him. Many of these incidents occurred after the appellant had been drinking.

In May 1986, the appellant offered to buy his stepdaughter a stereo if she would agree to give him six “lovings,” i.e., episodes of sexual intercourse. Yvonne recorded each sexual encounter on a calendar entitled “Dogs Are People Too” which she kept in her room. After six “lovings” the appellant bought her a stereo.

Yvonne met her present husband, who is in the Air Force, in April 1987. At the time he worked for the appellant who was jealous of the relationship and did not want it to continue. During the summer of 1987, the appellant’s sexual demands, which had abated over the previous 12 months, increased. It was during this period that Yvonne agreed to have sexual intercourse [994]*994with her stepfather on a weekly basis if “he would be nicer” to her boy friend.

On the weekend of 10 October, the appellant, his stepdaughter and her boy friend, were together at a local gasthaus. During the evening, Yvonne became slightly intoxicated. Her future husband took her to his apartment and then returned to the gasthaus. Later, he went back to his house and went to sleep. At approximately 2300 hours, the appellant came to the house, drunk, broke down the door, and assaulted his stepdaughter and her future husband.

During his testimony, the appellant categorically denied any sexual misconduct with his stepdaughter pointing out that his heart condition made any sexual activity by him extremely dangerous. He acknowledged that he did not like his stepdaughter’s boyfriend and stated that he lost control when he went to the apartment and saw them in bed together.

Contrary to his pleas, the appellant was convicted of rape, sodomy, indecent acts, assault, and being drunk and disorderly. He was sentenced to a bad conduct discharge, five years confinement, total forfeitures, and reduction to airman basic.

I

The initial issue we address is one of first impression within the military justice system: to what extent is an attorney, in possession of evidence that incriminates his client obligated to submit it to the prosecution sua sponte?

In early October 1987, allegations of sexual misconduct by the appellant with his stepdaughter surfaced. Subsequently, in late November, his appointed military defense counsel suggested that he gather “any documents, letters, papers, books, those sort of things” that his stepdaughter had left behind when she moved out that might explain her motive for making the allegations against him. They examined the materials and found nothing helpful to the case.

It was during the pretrial investigation on 8 January 1988 that Yvonne Rhea stated that the appellant bought her a stereo in return for her having sexual intercourse on six occasions. She stated that each time it occurred she marked on a calendar she kept in her room in the appellant’s house. The government obtained authorization to search the appellant’s house, but did not find the calendar.

Later, defense counsel searched the box of materials the appellant had left with them, and found the calendar that Yvonne had described.

Since defense counsel became concerned that the materials the appellant had stored with them contained evidence of a crime, they immediately contacted their respective state bars [i.e., Idaho and Virginia] for guidance. Both state organizations suggested that a ruling be sought from the trial judge as to whether disclosure was required. However, both implied that disclosure was probably necessary.

On 4 March 1988, appellant’s counsel requested an ex parte hearing before the trial judge. After being apprised of the situation, he issued an order directing the defense to turn over the calendar to the government.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
29 M.J. 991, 1990 WL 7257, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-rhea-usafctmilrev-1990.