United States v. Slape

76 M.J. 501, 2016 CCA LEXIS 745, 2016 WL 7571635
CourtUnited States Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals
DecidedDecember 8, 2016
DocketACM 38801
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 76 M.J. 501 (United States v. Slape) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Air Force 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. Slape, 76 M.J. 501, 2016 CCA LEXIS 745, 2016 WL 7571635 (afcca 2016).

Opinion

PUBLISHED OPINION OF THE COURT

MAYBERRY,' Senior Judge:

Contrary to- his pleas at a general court-martial, Appellant was found . guilty by a military judge sitting alone of two specifications of abusive sexual contact by committing lewd acts upon a child under the age of 16, in violation of Article 120b, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 920b. Specifically, the military judge found that on divers occasions between on or about 1 October 2012 and on or about 6 August 2013, Appellant intentionally touched the victim’s groin directly and her buttocks and breasts through hpr. clothing, all with an intent to gratify his sexual desire. The military judge found Appellant not guilty of committing a lewd act upon the same victim on divers occasions by intentionally causing her to touch .his genitalia in violation of Article 120b, UCMJ. The military judge sentenced Appellant to a dishonorable discharge, confinement for 30 months, and reduction to E-3. The convening authority approved the adjudged sentence.

On appeal, Appellant raises two issues: (1) the military judge abused his discretion in construing and applying Military Rule of Evidence (Mil. R. -Evid,) 504 when he ruled Appellant’s wife could not refuse to testify against Appellant; and (2) the evidence was legally and factually insufficient to sustain Appellant’s conviction for abusive sexual contact of a child, Although we disagree that the military judge abused his discretion as. to the proper application of Mil. R. Evid. 504, we agree that the portion of the abusive sexual contact of a child specification alleging Appellant touched NS’s buttocks with the intent to gratify his sexual desire was factually insufficient. We affirm the modified findings ' and sentence.

Background

Sometime between 2011 and 2012, Appellant’s wife met and became friends with Mrs. JM. The two women gathered their families together for game nights, barbecues, pool parties, and other social activities. Appellant’s daughter became close friends with [504]*504Mrs. JM’s daughter, NS, the victim in this case. In November of 2012, NS and her family moved in with Appellant’s family for a period of approximately three weeks. In late November 2012, NS and her family moved from Appellant’s residence to a farm about 15 minutes outside of Mountain Home, Idaho. The friendship and social interactions between the two families continued through early August of 2013. During the schoolyear, NS went to Appellant’s residence for sleepovers approximately every other weekend. During the summer of 2013, the sleepovers occurred almost weekly, often lasting multiple days.

When NS was at Appellant’s residence, NS’s mother did not have much communication with her daughter or Appellant’s family. Mrs. JM testified that “[the Slapes] were responsible for knowing where [NS] was if she left the house, they were responsible for feeding her, they were responsible to notify me if there was a medical emergency... Mrs. JM also testified that [Appellant’s wife] “had authority to discipline NS and had done so in my home.” NS viewed Appellant as “technically our guardian.” NS was on probation with local authorities from February 2013 through February 2014. This included restrictions prohibiting her from being around others on probation, and imposing a curfew during the summer. Mrs. JM and Appellant’s wife coordinated on how to ensure NS complied with the terns of her probation when NS was at the Slape home. On one occasion, Appellant’s wife called to see if it was okay for NS to go to the pool because of her curfew restrictions.

All of the alleged incidents took place in Appellant’s home, but involved two different locations due to Appellant moving during the charged timeframe. The three specifications involved two incidents alleging Appellant touched NS’s breasts and buttocks over her clothes, two incidents alleging Appellant put his hand down NS’s pants inside her underwear and touched her groin, and two incidents alleging Appellant placed NS’s hand on his penis.

Additional facts necessary to resolve Appellant’s assignments of error are provided below.

Application of Mil. R. Evid. 50⅛

During pretrial litigation, trial defense counsel filed a motion in limine to prevent trial counsel from calling Appellant’s spouse as a witness at trial, citing Mil. R. Evid. 504(a) and the spousal incapacity privilege. The Government maintained that the spousal incapacity privilege in Mil. R. Evid. 504(a) did not apply to a case involving a ciime against a child entrusted to the care of the Appellant or his spouse, no matter how short the duration of that temporary physical custody. The military judge held the spousal incapacity privilege did not apply based on the amended and expanded definition of the “child of either” exception set forth in Mil. R. Evid. 504(d).

Appellant asserts the military judge abused his discretion in construing and applying Mil. R. Evid. 504 when he ruled that Appellant’s wife could not refuse to testify against Appellant. The issue presented here is whether, under the facts of this case, Appellant or his wife had “temporary physical custody” of NS. If either Appellant or his wife had temporary physical custody of NS, based on the current definition in the rule, the spousal incapacity privilege would not apply and Appellant’s wife could not refuse to testify against her husband.

We review a military judge’s decision to admit or exclude evidence for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Thompson, 63 M.J. 228, 230 (C.A.A.F. 2006); United States v. McCollum, 58 M.J. 323, 335 (C.A.A.F. 2003) (citing United States v. McElhaney, 54 M.J. 120, 131-32 (C.A.A.F. 2000)). Whether a marital privilege applies to exclude evidence from consideration by the factfinder is a mixed question of law and fact. McCollum, 58 M.J. at 335 (citing United States v. Napoleon, 46 M.J. 279, 284 (C.A.A.F. 1997)). We affirm a military judge’s findings of fact unless the findings are clearly erroneous, and we review conclusions of law de novo. United States v. Rader, 65 M.J. 30, 32 (C.A.A.F. 2007). There is an abuse of discretion when: (1) findings are clearly erroneous; (2) an erroneous view of the law guides a decision; or (3) the decision is not one of the possible outcomes arising from the [505]*505facts and law of the case sub judice. United States v. Freeman, 65 M.J. 451, 453 (C.A.A.F. 2008).

Under Mil. R. Evid. 504(a), a person has a privilege to refuse to testify against his or her spouse unless one of the exceptions to the privilege—enumerated in Mil. R. Evid. 504(c)—apply. In accordance with the exception under Mil. R. Evid. 504(c)(2)(A), the spousal incapacity privilege does not apply “[i]n proceedings in which one spouse is charged with a crime against ... a child of either_” (Emphasis added).

In McCollum, our superior court interpreted “a child of either,” based on the law in place at the time, as not encompassing a de facto child exception. 58 M.J. at 340. Consequently, our superior court was constrained to find that an appellant’s admission to his wife that he had sex with his wife’s mentally retarded 14-year-old sister who was living with them did not fall within an exception and was privileged.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
76 M.J. 501, 2016 CCA LEXIS 745, 2016 WL 7571635, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-slape-afcca-2016.