Baker v. Commonwealth
Baker v. Commonwealth
Opinion of the Court
Opinion of the Court by
Appellant, Edward Leon Baker, was convicted in the Madison Circuit Court of two counts of using a minor in a sexual performance. He was sentenced to a total of thirty years imprisonment and appeals to this Court as a matter of right. Finding no error, we affirm.
On January 6, 2000, Appellant went to the photo counter at a local Kroger store and requested that a photograph be planted from a negative he gave the clerk, John Avera. Upon printing the photograph, Av-era discovered that it was a picture of a young girl with her breasts exposed and her face covered by an “Elmo doll.”
After identifying Appellant through the store’s surveillance tapes, Detective Ellen Alexander obtained a search warrant for Appellant’s home. Appellant was arrested at that time on two charges of Use of a Minor in a Sexual Performance, relating to the two pictures printed at the Kroger store. During the search, Detective Alex
Prior to trial, defense counsel moved to suppress the nine photographs upon which counts 3-11 were premised since the search warrant did not specifically authorize the seizure of the camera or undeveloped film. At the suppression hearing, Detective Alexander testified that the camera and film were taken after J.R., who lived with Appellant and was apparently present during the search, informed the Detective that there were some more nude pictures of her on the film. The trial court ruled that the seizure of the camera and film was proper, and denied the motion to suppress.
At the close of all evidence, and before the case was submitted to the jury, the trial court reduced the charges to two counts, merging counts 1 and 2, which were based upon the two pictures developed at the Kroger store, and counts 3-11, which were based upon the nine pictures developed from the roll of film seized during the search of Appellant’s residence.
The jury found him guilty of both counts and he was sentenced to fifteen years on each, to run consecutively for a total of thirty years imprisonment.
I.
Appellant argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the nine pictures developed from the roll of film since seizure of the camera and film was outside the scope of the warrant. Specifically, the warrant authorized the seizure of any:
Pornographic or obscene pictures of a child under the age of 16;
Pictures of a child without clothing in violation of the Kentucky Revised Statutes;
Pictures depicting a minor in sexual performance;
Any computers or computer generated materials which could contain child pornography; and
Video tapes containing child pornography.
Appellant is correct that the warrant did not designate the camera or film. However, Detective Alexander, the only witness who testified at the suppression hearing, explained that the camera was seized only after J.R. stated that the film contained more nude photographs of her taken by Appellant. Thus, the trial court concluded that since the warrant authorized the seizure of pornographic or obscene pictures, once J.R. informed Detective Alexander about the contents of the film, seizure of the camera was justified.
Appellant points out that J.R. subsequently testified at trial that the camera was, in fact, found in a kitchen drawer and that when she gave it to police, she did not know if it contained film. As such, Appellant believes that the trial court should have thereafter sua sponte reversed its suppression ruling since J.R.’s testimony differed from that of Detective Alexander. We disagree.
First, J.R. did not testify at the suppression hearing. The trial court’s denial of Appellant’s suppression motion was based upon the testimony presented during the hearing and will not be set aside if supported by substantial evidence. RCr 9.78. We conclude that it was. Furthermore, Appellant fails to note that J.R. also testified at trial that Appellant had threatened to kill her if he went to jail. We conclude that the trial court properly denied the motion to suppress based upon the evi
Although not presented to the trial court, Appellant also offers the novel theory that suppression was warranted because undeveloped film does not constitute a “photograph” within the context of KRS 531.300(5)
Webster’s defines the term photograph as “a picture or likeness obtained by photography” with the root word photography defined as “the art or process of producing images on a sensitized surface (as a film) by the action of radiant energy and esp. light.” Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 857 (10th ed. 1993) (emphasis added). Hence, by definition, a photograph is the exposure of the film at the time the picture is snapped. A hard copy of the photograph is a print and the developed film would be a negative.
See also United States v. Smith, 795 F.2d 841 (9th Cir. 1986), cert.denied, 481 U.S. 1032, 107 S.Ct. 1964, 95 L.Ed.2d 535 (1987) (undeveloped film constitutes a “visual depiction” within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a), the Federal Sexual Exploitation Statute). Furthermore, the trial court found that seizure of the camera and film was proper and, once processed, the pictures developed from the film were certainly evidence of Appellant’s use of a minor in a sexual performance.
II.
Next, Appellant argues that he was entitled to an instruction on the misdemeanor offense of possession of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor, KRS 531.335(1), which reads as follows:
A person is guilty of possession of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor when, having knowledge of its content, character, and that the sexual performance is by a minor, he knowingly has in his possession or control any matter which visually depicts an actual sexual performance by a minor person.
While maintaining that he was only in possession of “an undeveloped roll of noni-mages that he might have later developed,” Appellant argues that the jury could have found him guilty of possessing potentially obscene pictures and convicted him under KRS 521.335(1). We disagree.
Appellant admitted to staging the photographs of J.R., and thus ignores the plain language of KRS 531.310 which simply does not require a “finished product” to be guilty of using a minor in a sexual performance. As the Commonwealth points out, while a photograph may be considered a performance, any other visual representation before an audience involving sexual conduct by a minor is also a performance. KRS 531.310(5). Appellant’s act of taking the pictures of J.R.’s exposed breasts and genitalia was sufficient to satisfy the statute. See also Alcorn v. Commonwealth, Ky.App., 910 S.W.2d 716 (1995).
III.
The eleven-count indictment charged Appellant with having committed the offense of Use of a Minor in a Sexual Performance, KRS 531.310, “by inducing [J.R.] ... to expose, in an obscene manner, [various female anatomy].” However, over defense objection, the trial court instructed the jury that it could find Appellant guilty if it believed “he knowingly employed, authorized, or induced [J.R.] to engage in a sexual performance or consented to [J.R.’s] engagement in a sexual performance[.]” Appellant argues that he was prejudiced by the additional language in the instruction because his sole defense was that he did not induce J.R., rather she “had shown an interest in modeling, acting, and singing” and that “she thought the picture taking was fun.”
As the trial court noted during an extensive on-the-record conference regarding instructions, Appellant completely ignores the fact that consent of the minor is clearly not a defense. The statute is intended to protect minors from exploitation regardless of whether their participation is voluntary. Holbrook v. Commonwealth, Ky.App., 662 S.W.2d 484 (1984). “Indeed, ‘employs, consents to, authorizes or induces’ all imply the possibility of voluntary participation by a minor, as the idea or force or coercion is not ordinarily conveyed by those words.” Id. at 488. It is wholly irrelevant that the twelve-year-old victim in this case did or did not consent to the photographic sessions.
Furthermore, we fail to perceive any prejudice to Appellant. Defense counsel conceded during the conference that the indictment sufficiently charged Appellant with violating KRS 531.310, and readily admitted that he was familiar with all of the language contained therein. And while Appellant claims prejudice because he had already questioned witnesses about whether there was inducement, defense counsel neither requested additional time nor recalled any witnesses following the trial court’s ruling on instructions despite being told he could do so.
Contrary to Appellant’s assertion, the indictment was not amended to include the additional language of KRS 531.310. However, the trial court had the discretion to amend the indictment in this case pursuant to RCr 6.16. Appellant was aware of the language contained in KRS 531.310, and the evidence was certainly sufficient to warrant an instruction including that additional language. We find no error in the instructions.
For the reasons stated herein, the judgment and sentence of the Madison Circuit Court are affirmed.
. Avera also printed another photograph from the negative which contained similarly obscene material.
. " 'Performance' means any play, motion picture, photograph or dance. Performance also means any other visual representation exhibited before an audience[.]” KRS 531.300(5).
Concurring Opinion
concurring.
I also vote to affirm the judgment of the Madison Circuit Court, but I write separately because I disagree with Part
In discharging its duty “to instruct the jury in writing on the law of the case,”
Here, the jury instructions unquestionably broadened the indictment’s specific allegation and permitted the jury to find Appellant guilty without finding that Appellant undertook some affirmative act to cause J.R. to participate in a sexual performance.
Although I believe that the de facto amendment of this indictment did not, in fact, mislead Appellant as to the nature of the Commonwealth’s allegations, I should emphasize that I can envision how, in other cases, a defendant may be misled by an indictment that identifies one or more bases or theories of liability and excludes others. After all, under the theory of notice pleading incorporated within our criminal rules, indictments are supposed to “fairly inform[] the defendant of the nature of the crime with which he is charged,”
COOPER, J., joins this concurring opinion.
. Majority Opinion, 103 S.W.3d 90, 94 (2003).
. RCr 6.16.
. RCr 9.54.
. 1 Cooper, Kentucky Instructions to Juries (Criminal) § 1.13 at 29 (Anderson Publishing Co. 1999) (hereinafter “Cooper”). See also Taylor v. Commonwealth, 256 Ky. 667, 76 S.W.2d 923, 926 (1934) (“Instructions in criminal cases should follow the language of the indictment and submit to the jury the elements of the offense charged, as contained in the indictment ....”).
. See McBride v. Commonwealth, 76 Ky. 337, 13 Bush 337, 338 (1877).
. Code of Practice in Criminal Cases (1877) (repealed 1963) § 353 ("The judgment shall be reversed for any errors of law appearing on the record when, upon consideration of the whole case, the court is satisfied that the substantial rights of the defendant have been prejudiced thereby.”).
. Braswell v. Commonwealth, Ky., 339 S.W.2d 637, 638 (1960).
. Robards v. Commonwealth, Ky., 419 S.W.2d 570, 573 (1967). See also Finch v. Commonwealth, Ky., 419 S.W.2d 146, 147 (1967) (explaining that the new Rules of Criminal Procedure "have adopted the principle of notice pleading” and that, although “all details of the charge” need not be set forth in the indictment, "if the defendant needs information concerning the details of the charge against him to enable him to prepare his defense, he should be supplied them through a requested bill of particulars.”).
. Compare Code of Practice in Criminal Cases, supra note 6 at § 126(5) ("The court may at any time cause the indictment to be amended in respect of any defect, imperfection, or omission in the matter of form only." (emphasis added)) with RCr 6.16, supra. See also International Shoe Co. v. Commonwealth, 300 Ky. 806, 190 S.W.2d 553, 554 (1945) (holding that § 126(5), which was adopted in 1942, will not "permit the Commonwealth's Attorney to amend an indictment by supplying substantial averments omitted by the Grand Jury.”).
. Johnson v. Commonwealth, Ky., 864 S.W.2d 266, 273 (1993) ("[Tlhe indictment here ought to have been amended (to be more accurate, it ought to have been more carefully drafted), but the failure to amend was unquestionably harmless.”); Commonwealth v. Day, Ky., 599 S.W.2d 166, 169 (1980) ("[U]nder RCr 6.16 the indictment could and should have been amended to include the period through July 3, 1977, the date shown by the proof and used in the instructions. However, the failure to do so did not affect Day’s substantial rights.”); Robards v. Commonwealth, supra note 8 at 573 ("The indictment could and should have been amended at the conclusion of the testimony, but it cannot reasonably be held that a failure in that respect affected the defendant’s substantial rights.”); Berry v. Commonwealth, Ky.App., 84 S.W.3d 82, 92 (2002).
. RCr 9.24.
. Davis v. Commonwealth, Ky., 399 S.W.2d 711, 713 (1966).
. See Holbrook v. Commonwealth, Ky.App., 662 S.W.2d 484, 488 (1984) ("’[C]onsent to’ or ’authorize’ as used in [KRS 531.310] does not require an affirmative act to cause Diaz to participate in the movie. To employ or induce a minor to engage in the performance of sexual acts would necessitate such an affirmative act; however, the definition of the offense is not limited to such affirmative acts.”).
. Although not raised as an allegation of error in either the trial court or on appeal to this Court, the manner in which the trial court dealt with Appellant’s Motion for Directed Verdict may have allowed the jury to return a non-unanimous verdict. The basis for Appellant’s Motion for Directed Verdict was that the Commonwealth had failed to prove that Appellant had "induced” J.R. to participate in a sexual performance as alleged in the indictment. Although the trial court denied Appellant’s motion, it did so because it found that the evidence would support a guilty verdict for one of the alternative bases of KRS 531.310 liability ("authorizes” and "employs”), but the trial court never addressed (on the record, anyway) whether the evidence would support the "induces” theory it submitted to the jury. If the evidence would not have permitted a jury reasonably to conclude that Appellant had "induced” J.R. into a sexual performance, even if it would have supported a guilty verdict under the other KRS 531.310 bases, the trial court risked reversible error by including the “induced” basis in the jury instructions. See Neal v. Commonwealth, Ky., 95 S.W.3d 843 (2003). As Appellant does not question the sufficiency of the evidence on appeal, did not object to including "induces” in the instructions, and actually requested that the trial court include "consents to” after the trial court expressed its preliminary belief that the evidence did not support a conviction on that basis, I mention the possibility of error only to caution the bench and bar of the need to tailor jury instructions to the evidence presented. See Cooper, supra note 4 at § 1.06 at 18-19 ("[T]he instructions must have a source within the framework of the evidence actually introduced at trial.... The jury should not be instructed on a theory of the case not sustained by the evidence, or on a theory opposed to the evidence.” (footnotes omitted)).
. Robards v. Commonwealth, supra note 8 at 573.
. Finch v. Commonwealth, supra note 8 at 147.
. RCr 6.10(2) (emphasis added).
. RCr 6.10(3) (“It may be alleged in any count that the means by which the defendant committed the offense are unknown or that the defendant committed it by one or more specified means.”).
. Id.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Edward Leon BAKER, Appellant, v. COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY, Appellee
- Cited By
- 5 cases
- Status
- Published