United States v. Rollins

23 M.J. 729, 1986 CMR LEXIS 2939
CourtU S Air Force Court of Military Review
DecidedDecember 19, 1986
DocketACM 25468
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 23 M.J. 729 (United States v. Rollins) 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. Rollins, 23 M.J. 729, 1986 CMR LEXIS 2939 (usafctmilrev 1986).

Opinions

DECISION

STEWART, Judge:

Despite his pleas the appellant was convicted by general court-martial, by judge alone, of two violations of an Air Training Command Regulation by engaging in sexual intimacies with two female applicants for Air Force enlistment and one instance of wrongfully endeavoring to impede an investigation. It was alleged that the sexual intimacy on one occasion consisted of fondling and kissing the applicant’s breasts and performing oral sex on her. On the other occasion it was alleged that the sexual intimacy was comprised of massaging another applicant’s shoulders and chest. The sentence adjudged and approved by the convening authority was a bad conduct discharge, confinement for one year, and reduction to airman basic.

The appellant has assigned two errors and invited our attention to an additional two. The first assigned error is mooted by [732]*732our action in this case, and the second assigned error is without merit. We will discuss the invited errors after we summarize the evidence.

In 1984 the appellant was an Air Force recruiter assigned to Alexandria, Louisiana. B.G. was a female applicant who had taken an enlistment test in mid-May 1984. She had not done well on the test, and by the fall of 1984 the appellant was helping her to prepare for a retest. One preparation method was the viewing of Air Force films in the back room of the recruiting office. B.G. testified that one afternoon in the fall she was viewing a film, and the appellant was called away from her twice by a ringing telephone in the front office. After going to the telephone the second time he closed the curtains over the front window and locked the front door. He then turned the front room lights off and returned to her. Standing behind her, he asked if she’d like her back massaged, to which she replied yes. He initially rubbed her shoulders, but then moved his hands down her front onto her chest. Upon her query "... what are you doing?”, he removed his hands. Nothing more was said about this incident, but she left the recruiting office in about two minutes. The appellant testified that he merely placed one hand on B.G.’s shoulder to call her attention to something depicted in the film. She then looked at him, but did not say anything. He removed his hand, did not massage her shoulders, and did not attempt to move his hands toward her breasts. While he acknowledged the lights were off in the room where she was watching the film, he denied locking the door and maintained the front room lights were on. Furthermore, he stated this occurred in May 1984 and the time of day was ten or eleven o’clock in the morning.

Another female applicant, K.B., testified as to what transpired between the appellant and her on 17 June 1985. She had taken a test early in the day and failed it by three points. The appellant offered to assist her in preparing for a retest and suggested they get together at the recruiting office that night. After a confirming telephone conversation she arrived at the recruiting office about 1900 hours. They were alone. She accepted a beer the appellant offered her. After they studied for a couple of hours, the appellant began rubbing his neck and complained that his neck and back were hurting. He asked her to give him a back rub. Although she initially declined, he insisted. The appellant turned off the lights, locked the door, and laid down on the office couch. The window curtains were already closed. She then massaged his back. The appellant kissed her and proceeded to partially undress her so that her breasts and genital area were exposed. The appellant kissed her breasts, her stomach, and her vaginal area. He also stuck his tongue into her vagina. The sexual activity was against her will and she said “no”, probably about four times. She didn’t scream because there was nobody around, and she didn’t try to get up and get away because she was scared he might hurt her.

The appellant testified that K.B. on her own initiative began rubbing his shoulders; he did not suggest it. He had not offered or given her beer. The curtains were already closed and the door also had been locked previously. The rubbing led to their kissing, and it was about then that he turned off the lights. He kissed K.B.’s breasts and had sexual intercourse with her, but did not have oral sex with her.

In July 1985 the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) opened an investigation on the appellant. The OSI took a written sworn statement from the appellant on 3 July 1985, in which the appellant acknowledged the warning that he was suspected of “Coaching applicants and Sexual Intimacy with AF Applicants.” Sometime later the applicant obtained legal counsel, and the OSI knew the identity of counsel before 4 September 1985. Special Agent (SA) D requested B.G. to come to the OSI office, and she complied on 4 September 1985. B.G. told him that the appellant had been trying to contact her by telephone for two weeks, but she had not returned the appellant’s calls. SA D persuaded her to [733]*733call the appellant from the OSI office. He instructed her not to ask any questions, but to listen to what the appellant had to say and to repeat what the appellant was saying during the telephone conversation. B.G. did this. She testified that the appellant told her some people would be calling her and whatever she did, she should deny everything. He further said he’d helped her with the test, and he wasn’t supposed to do so.

The first invited error is that the military judge erred when he denied trial defense counsel’s motion to suppress B.G.’s testimony concerning what the appellant told her during the 4 September 1985 telephone conversation. The defense’s theory was that B.G. was an agent of the OSI and, accordingly, she should have given the appellant a warning in accordance with Article 31, Uniform Code of Military Justice, and notice to counsel should have been given. The defense cited United States v. Butner, 15 M.J. 139 (C.M.A.1983); United States v. Johnstone, 5 M.J. 744 (A.F.C.M. R.1978); United States v. Penn, 39 C.M.R. 194 (C.M.A.1969), and Military Rule of Evidence (Mil.R.Evid.) 305(e) in support of its position.

We agree with the finding of the military judge that B.G. was acting as an agent of the OSI during the telephone conversation. MiLR.Evid. 305(b)(1). Nevertheless, she was not questioning the appellant. To the contrary, she was returning his telephone calls and attempting to determine why he wished to speak to her. Although obviously the OSI was hoping to gain some information in furtherance of its investigation, this, in our view was not an interrogation which could have triggered the need for a warning and notice to counsel. It was a means to facilitate the receipt of a spontaneous statement the appellant wished to make to B.G. The cases cited by the defense involved interrogations, and Mil.R.Evid. 305(e) notice to counsel is only required where there is an intent to question or interrogate a suspect. This, to the contrary, is a situation where a suspect on his own initiative made a statement. United States v. Lovell, 8 M.J. 613 (A.F.C.M.R. 1979).

However, even if a warning and notice to counsel were called for, we believe the appellant’s statement was nevertheless admissible. Although only testing matters were expressly mentioned, it conceivably could be construed to also refer to the alleged sexual incident with B.G. Additionally, it was something more. As the military judge found, the communication was “ ... words constituting a new distinct offense not under investigation at the time ...

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