United States v. Sousa

72 M.J. 643, 2013 WL 2443254, 2013 CCA LEXIS 469
CourtUnited States Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals
DecidedMay 30, 2013
DocketACM 37889
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 72 M.J. 643 (United States v. Sousa) 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. Sousa, 72 M.J. 643, 2013 WL 2443254, 2013 CCA LEXIS 469 (afcca 2013).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

SANTORO, Judge:

A general court-martial composed of officer and enlisted members convicted the appellant, contrary to his pleas, of forcible sodomy against his then-wife, DS, in violation of Article 125, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 925. The adjudged and approved sentence was a bad-conduct discharge, confinement for 2 years, and reduction to E-l. On appeal, the appellant asserts that the military judge erred by (a) excluding the contents of a DVD contain[645]*645ing evidence of sexual contact between the appellant and the victim, pursuant to Mil. R. Evid. 412, and (b) failing to instruct on consensual sodomy as a lesser-included offense. We affirm.

Background

The prosecution’s case consisted entirely of the testimony of the appellant’s former wives, DS and BS. DS testified that she met the appellant in July 2005, they married in October 2005, and they divorced in March 2008. The appellant became more emotionally and sexually controlling as the marriage progressed. Beginning on the day they met and continuing into approximately February 2007, the appellant and DS engaged in consensual sexual activity consisting of vaginal, oral, and anal intercourse an average of three to four times per week. Several, but not all, of those encounters were videotaped. DS alleged that during one of their sexual encounters in November 2006 — while she was pregnant and that was not recorded — the appellant forcibly sodomized her as she cried, tried to push him off, and told him to stop. After the encounter, when the appellant found DS in the bathroom bleeding, he told her that just as Christ bled for her, she should be willing to bleed a little bit for her husband. It was this incident that served as the basis for the charge of forcible sodomy in this ease.

BS, the appellant’s first wife, testified that she and the appellant married in 1995 after dating for three months. BS described the appellant as being very nice initially, but, as the marriage progressed, he would tell her that she needed to be submissive to him and that her job was to raise their son, clean the house, cook his meals, and do “wifely duties.” He would make negative comments about her appearance, her weight, and the length of her hair. She also testified that the appellant enjoyed videotaping their sexual encounters and told her he expected her to engage in anal sodomy.

Because one of BS’ sons with the appellant was living with him and DS, DS and BS spoke regularly during the course of DS’s marriage to the appellant. As DS’s relationship with the appellant deteriorated, DS told BS that she and the appellant were having financial problems, he was drinking excessively, and going out without her. BS told DS that she had experienced similar issues.

In early 2010, DS received an e-mail from the appellant’s then-girlfriend. The girlfriend told DS that she had seen DS’s “sex tape” with her ex-husband, and it included a scene of what the girlfriend said was forced anal sex. DS confronted the appellant, who admitted that he had retained copies of the recordings.

DS went first to the appellant’s first sergeant, then later to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI), in an attempt to recover the original recordings. DS later called BS and told her that the appellant had forced her to engage in anal sex while she was pregnant. BS told DS that he had done the same thing to her. DS told BS that she had made a formal complaint to OSI and had given them BS’s name and contact information.

BS ultimately testified that, during one of their sexual encounters in November 1997-while she was pregnant — the appellant forcibly sodomized her as she told him to stop, told him he was hurting her, and pushed him to try to get him off her. She did not report this incident to anyone at the time.

Additional facts necessary to resolve the assigned error are discussed below.

I. Exclusion of the DVD

The appellant’s girlfriend eventually gave DS a DVD copy of the “sex tape.” DS watched it for a few seconds to confirm that it depicted her and then gave it to OSI. The single act of forcible sodomy at issue in this trial is not recorded on the DVD.

Trial defense counsel sought to introduce the DVD and testimony about the sexual activity between the appellant and DS to demonstrate consent and mistake of fact as to consent. The issue was first addressed in a pretrial motion and ruling (hereafter the “pretrial ruling”) and then again in a subsequent motion to reconsider after DS’s direct examination (hereafter the “motion to reconsider”).

[646]*646 A. Pretnal Ruling

After hearing testimony at a pretrial session, pursuant to Article 39(a), UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 839(a), and viewing the contents of the DVD, the military judge made extensive findings of fact and conclusions of law. He ultimately allowed testimony about the existence and contents of the DVD but did not allow introduction of the DVD itself. We will discuss more fully the military judge’s findings of fact and conclusions of law below.

B. Direct Examination of DS

Trial began with the direct examination of DS. She testified that she and the appellant began experiencing problems shortly after getting married. DS had previously been married three times and was initially attracted to the appellant, in part, because of his religious nature. After they married, the appellant began drinking excessively and became more sexually demanding. DS testified that the appellant frequently used scripture against her, telling her that he was the head of the household, that he was her ruler, and that she was to be subservient to him in every way. He made her quit her job, prohibited her from spending money without his permission, and required that the entire family eat dinners in silence. The appellant threatened her with divorce when she disagreed with him.

DS testified that the appellant also demanded sexual control over her. He told her that her body belonged to him and that God expected her to submit to his every request. He repeatedly recited scripture to support his position. Although prior to marriage the appellant had told DS that he could not be with a woman who would not engage in anal intercourse, his demands in that regard increased after they married. DS testified that the appellant enjoyed taking photographs of her and videotaping their sexual encounters. She testified that she had no interest in the pictures or the recording but did acquiesce to his demands.

DS gave birth to the appellant’s daughter in January 2007. Shortly thereafter, the appellant was assigned to Korea. While he was away, DS logged into their shared e-mail account and saw a message from a Korean dating website. She investigated and found that the appellant had created a profile listing himself as a divorced, Christian man seeking a “pretty, laidback girl.” Her conclusion that the appellant was committing adultery enabled her to initiate divorce without running afoul of her religious beliefs. Their divorce became final in March 2008, and DS moved to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, where she had been offered a job. Before moving to Hill, DS had asked the appellant for the photographs and recordings he had made of their sexual activity.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
72 M.J. 643, 2013 WL 2443254, 2013 CCA LEXIS 469, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-sousa-afcca-2013.