Commonwealth v. Duntin
Commonwealth v. Duntin
Opinion of the Court
After a jury trial, the defendant, Ryan Duntin, was convicted of two counts of trafficking persons for sexual servitude, see G. L. c. 265, § 50(a )(ii), and two counts of deriving support from prostitution, G. L. c. 272, § 7.
1. Lesser included offenses. In Commonwealth v. McGhee,
In McGhee, the court stated two primary reasons why G. L. c. 272, § 7, was not a lesser included offense of G. L. c. 265, § 50(a )(i) :
"First, the language of G. L. c. 272, § 7, plainly states that the conduct prohibited by that statute is the sharing of proceeds earned by a known prostitute. In contrast, under G. L. c. 265, § 50 (a ), an individual who knowingly enables or causes another person to engage in commercial sexual activity need not benefit, either financially or by receiving something of value, from such conduct in order to be convicted of sex trafficking.... Second, the knowledge element of G. L. c. 272, § 7, is retrospective. That is to say, an individual shares earnings or proceeds knowing that they came from an act of prostitution that already has occurred. In contrast, the knowledge element of G. L. c. 265, § 50 (a ), is prospective. An individual engages in statutorily enumerated acts knowing that those acts will result in another person's anticipated engagement in commercial sexual activity."
McGhee,
In an indictment under G. L. c. 265, § 50(a )(ii), one element of the offense is that the defendant obtained a financial benefit or received anything of value. In this respect a trafficking offense charged under § 50(a )(ii) and a deriving support claim under G. L. c. 272, § 7, share a common element. However, G. L. c. 265, § 50(a )(ii), incorporates a violation of G. L. c. 265, § 50(a )(i), and therefore incorporates the knowledge element of § 50(a )(i) into § 50(a )(ii). The knowledge element of the crime of trafficking under § 50(a )(ii) is prospective, while the knowledge element of the crime of deriving support under G. L. c. 272, § 7, is retrospective. McGhee,
2. Separate acts instruction. The defendant contends for the first time on appeal
The defendant's reliance on Niels N. is misplaced. For the reasons stated above, the trafficking and deriving support crimes each contain elements not present in the other and thus, the same evidence can support convictions for both crimes. The majority opinion in Niels N. was rejected in Vick,
The defendant was charged with two counts of trafficking and two counts of deriving support, however, and to that extent "[t]he question whether two offenses are 'so closely related in fact as to constitute in substance but a single crime,' becomes pertinent ... [because] there are multiple counts of the same offense." Vick, supra at 435, quoting from Commonwealth v. St. Pierre,
"Whether a defendant's actions constitute separate and distinct acts or must be considered a single crime is a question of fact for the jury to resolve."
"The human trafficking and the deriving support counts are alleged to have occurred in two different towns. There's a separate count alleged for Braintree, a separate count alleged for Tewksbury. We're going to have clipped to the verdict slip the particular count. That will tell you whether that's the count that relates to Tewksbury or to Braintree."
The instruction was clear. The factual question whether the defendant committed multiple counts of each offense-"in two different towns"-was squarely before the jury. There was no error.
3. Duplicative convictions. The defendant submits that the conduct charged constituted a single, continuing offense, and that the resulting multiple convictions were duplicative. The evidence showed that the defendant sexually exploited the victim in various locations, including two different hotels, in two different counties,
4. Mistrial. The defendant contends that the judge abused his discretion in denying the defendant's motion for a mistrial. He claims that the jury's exposure to comments made by a juror tainted the jury's deliberations.
During deliberations, the judge received notes from juror number five (juror 5) and juror number thirteen (juror 13), requesting to be made alternates. The judge initially questioned juror 13, who told him that she lived in Randolph, that she was not comfortable sitting on the jury, but that she had never seen the defendant's family before. The trial judge asked: "[D]id you have any conversation with [juror 5] about anything regarding her living in Randolph or the case?" Juror 13 responded: "No. She just was sharing what-you know, fears. I said, well, I live in Randolph, too. That was it." The judge proceeded to question juror 5, who reported that she asked to be an alternate because she lived in Randolph, as did the defendant's family, and that she had recognized some of the defendant's family members as people that she had seen "around town." She also expressed concern about her family's safety, but denied saying anything about the defendant's family in the jury room. After questioning juror 5, the judge denied the defendant's motion for a mistrial and dismissed juror 5 over the defendant's objection.
The judge continued to question juror 13 about her conversation with juror 5. The judge asked juror 13 if juror 5 expressed any fears to the entire group. Juror 13 stated: "It was just-I'm just close-I was close to her. I don't know if anybody heard." After conferring with counsel about whether to dismiss juror 13, the judge-at the defendant's request-once again inquired about what juror 5 said to juror 13. The judge asked: "[D]o you remember exactly what she said to you?" In response juror 13 stated: "Word for word, no. It's just that she thought she saw the-some of the people that were in court in Randolph.... Some people that were in court here-... that were in Randolph.... That's it." After thoroughly questioning juror 13, the judge denied the Commonwealth's request to dismiss juror 13, assigned an alternate to replace juror 5, and instructed the jury to begin their deliberations anew.
The defendant did not renew his request for a mistrial after the judge determined that juror 13 could serve on the jury. Furthermore, the defendant did not ask the judge to question the remaining jurors about their exposure to comments made by juror 5.
The judge did not abuse his discretion in denying a mistrial. He questioned jurors 5 and 13 repeatedly at the defendant's request and removed juror 5. See Commonwealth v. Kamara,
In order to establish grounds for a mistrial, the defendant was required to make a "colorable showing" that some word or deed may have had an impact on the remaining jurors that rose above the level of mere speculation. Commonwealth v. Dixon,
Judgments affirmed.
At a subsequent plea hearing, the defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to traffic persons for sexual servitude, G. L. c. 274, § 7, and one count of failure to register as a sex offender, G. L. c. 6, § 178H.
General Laws c. 265, § 50(a ), inserted by St. 2011, c. 178, § 23, provides in pertinent part:
"Whoever knowingly: (i) subjects, or attempts to subject, or recruits, entices, harbors, transports, provides or obtains by any means, or attempts to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide or obtain by any means, another person to engage in commercial sexual activity, a sexually-explicit performance or the production of unlawful pornography in violation of chapter 272, or causes a person to engage in commercial sexual activity, a sexually-explicit performance or the production of unlawful pornography in violation of said chapter 272; or (ii) benefits, financially or by receiving anything of value, as a result of a violation of clause (i), shall be guilty of the crime of trafficking of persons for sexual servitude...."
We review an unpreserved claim of error in the judge's jury instructions to determine if there was an error, and if so, whether that error caused a substantial risk of a miscarriage of justice. Commonwealth v. Kelly,
Separate indictments charged offenses occurring in Middlesex County and Norfolk County. The cases were consolidated for trial.
The victim was unsure how long they stayed in the second hotel because the "days ran into each other."
In addition, the judge reminded the jurors that they must "decide this case based on the evidence and based upon the evidence alone."
The defendant did not ask the judge to examine the foreperson, who presumably was aware of the notes that both jurors passed to the judge.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.