Commonwealth v. Cooper
Commonwealth v. Cooper
Opinion of the Court
Following a bench trial in the Boston Municipal Court, the defendant, Hakeem Cooper, appeals from his conviction of indecent assault and battery on a person over fourteen, in violation of G. L. c. 265, § 13H. The defendant specifically argues that his motion to dismiss the charge for lack of probable cause and his motions for a required finding of not guilty were denied in error. We affirm.
I. Background. "We summarize the facts as the [trial judge] could have found them, in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth," reserving some facts for later discussion. Commonwealth v. Sanna,
Ward's incident report, which he read out loud at trial, states that the victim "accused [the defendant] of putting his groin in the region at the trap door of his cell while [the victim] proceeded to give [the defendant] his medication. [The victim's] hand brushed [the defendant's] groin." Ward also testified that at the time of the incident he was looking at the defendant's face through a window in the door and not at the trap door; Ward did not observe the defendant touch the victim or "press anything up against the trap door area."
Dacey's incident report, which was filed with the criminal application, states that the defendant "purposely placed his clothed genitals to the area of the trap door so that [the victim's] hand would come into contact with his genitals."
Prior to his trial, the defendant had moved to dismiss the charge for lack of probable cause. A judge, who was not the trial judge, denied this motion. After the Commonwealth rested at trial, and again at the close of all the evidence, the defendant moved for a required finding of not guilty. The trial judge denied both motions and found the defendant guilty of indecent assault and battery on a person over the age of fourteen.
II. Motion to dismiss the complaint for lack of probable cause. We review a judge's ruling on a motion to dismiss for lack of probable cause de novo. Commonwealth v. Humberto H.,
"The type of conduct that constitutes indecent assault and battery on a person over fourteen years of age is not defined in G. L. c. 265, § 13H. A definition adopted by this court provides: '[a]n indecent assault and battery is essentially an act or series of acts which are fundamentally offensive to contemporary moral values .... [I]t is behavior which the common sense of society would regard as immodest, immoral and improper .... Thus, in order to prove indecent assault and battery, the Commonwealth must prove ... that the defendant committed an intentional, unprivileged and indecent touching of the victim.' " (Footnote omitted.) Commonwealth v. Mosby,
Here, the incident report filed with the criminal application provided facts that the defendant "purposely" moved his body to an area where "[the victim's] hand would come into contact with his genitals." The defendant affirmatively moving his genitals to the area of the trap door where the victim's hand would come into contact with them provided the motion judge with sufficient facts to establish probable cause that the defendant intentionally committed an indecent assault and battery on the victim. The motion judge, therefore, did not err in denying the defendant's motion to dismiss the complaint for lack of probable cause.
III. Motions for a required finding of not guilty. In reviewing a denial of a motion for a required finding of not guilty, we must determine whether the evidence was sufficient to permit any rational fact finder to conclude that the essential elements of the crime had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. See Commonwealth v. Latimore,
The defendant maintains that the judge made an impermissible "leap of conjecture" concerning who touched whom because there was differing testimony at trial. We disagree. Inconsistencies in testimony go to the credibility of the witness and do not necessarily affect the sufficiency of the evidence. See Mosby,
Lastly, despite the defendant's arguments, there was sufficient evidence to permit a reasonable fact finder to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant intended to touch the victim, see Commonwealth v. Holbrook,
Thus, the trial judge did not err in finding beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant's act constituted an indecent assault and battery on the victim.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.