State v. Medina, Unpublished Decision (3-31-1999)
State v. Medina, Unpublished Decision (3-31-1999)
Opinion of the Court
This cause was heard upon the record in the trial court. Each error assigned has been reviewed and the following disposition is made: Appellant Raul Medina appeals from his adjudication as a sexual predator in the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas. We affirm.
On October 27, 1987, appellant was indicted by the Lorain County Grand Jury on three counts: one count of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material or performance, one count of possession of criminal tools, and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The indictment was based on an incident between appellant and a fifteen-year-old girl. Appellant enticed the girl, who was on her way to school, to go with him to his residence. Once there, he gave her wine coolers and beer to drink, had her put on revealing clothing, and engaged in sexual intercourse with her. Appellant also videotaped these events. Afterwards, appellant told the girl to bring her friends to his residence so that he could engage in similar activities with them. Appellant pleaded not guilty to the charges.
On April 19, 1988, appellant pleaded guilty to one count of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material or performance, and the two other counts were dismissed. A presentence investigation report was ordered. At sentencing, the trial court placed appellant on probation for five years. During that term, appellant violated his probation. The trial court reimposed the original sentence of three to fifteen years of incarceration.
On May 9, 1997, a hearing was held in the trial court to determine whether appellant should be adjudicated as a sexual predator pursuant to R.C. Chapter 2950. Appellant was present with counsel. At the hearing, the sole witness was the former detective who investigated appellant's case in 1987. Based on the testimony of the detective and the presentence investigation report that was compiled in 1988, the trial court found appellant to be a sexual predator. This appeal followed.
Appellant asserts three assignments of error. We will address each in turn.
A two-step process is employed in determining whether the right to effective counsel has been violated.
Strickland v. Washington (1984),First, the defendant must show that counsel's performance was deficient. This requires showing that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the "counsel" guaranteed the defendant by the
Sixth Amendment. Second, the defendant must show that the deficient performance prejudiced the defense. This requires showing that counsel's errors were so serious as to deprive the defendant of a fair trial, a trial whose result is reliable.
In DeAngelo, supra, at 3-4, this court held that an offender being adjudicated as a sexual predator does not violate Crim.R. 11. Therefore, appellant's counsel was not ineffective for failing to object on that basis. Appellant's second assignment of error is overruled.
Appellant first argues that the trial court should not have considered the presentence investigation report in making its decision. We note that appellant did not object to the use of the report and has waived all but plain error. "Notice of plain error under Crim.R. 52(B) is to be taken with the utmost caution, under exceptional circumstances and only to prevent a manifest miscarriage of justice." State v. Long (1978),
In the case at bar, no plain error exists. In State v. Cook
(1998),
Appellant also argues that there was not clear and convincing evidence to support his adjudication as a sexual predator. If an offender is to be adjudicated as a sexual offender, a trial court must hold a hearing pursuant to R.C.
(a) The offender's age;
(b) The offender's prior criminal record regarding all offenses, including, but not limited to, all sexual offenses;
(c) The age of the victim of the sexually oriented offense for which sentence is to be imposed;
(d) Whether the sexually oriented offense for which sentence is to imposed involved multiple victims;
(e) Whether the offender used drugs or alcohol to impair the victim of the sexually oriented offense or to prevent the victim from resisting;
(f) If the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any criminal offense, whether the offender completed any sentence imposed for the prior offense and, if the prior offense was a sex offense or a sexually oriented offense, whether the offender participated in available programs for sexual offenders;
(g) Any mental illness or mental disability of the offender;
(h) The nature of the offender's sexual conduct, sexual contact, or interaction in a sexual context with the victim of the sexually oriented offense and whether the sexual conduct, sexual contact, or interaction in a sexual context was part of a demonstrated pattern of abuse;
(i) Whether the offender, during the commission of the sexually oriented offense for which sentence is to be imposed, displayed cruelty or made one or more threats of cruelty;
(j) Any additional behavioral characteristics that contribute to the offender's conduct.
R.C.
In order for a trial court to adjudicate an offender as a sexual predator, the court must consider the factors outlined above and the testimony and evidence presented, and determine whether there is clear and convincing evidence that the offender is a sexual predator. R.C.
The record shows the following: At the time that the offense underlying the present appeal was committed, appellant was thirty-five years of age. Appellant had previously been convicted of driving under the influence and possession of marijuana. The victim was fifteen years old at the time the offense was committed. Alcohol, in the form of wine coolers and beer, was used to impair the victim of the offense. Appellant did complete his sentence for his prior convictions several years before committing the offense at issue in this case. The presentence investigation report indicated that persons with a psychological profile similar to that of appellant experience conflicts in dealing with members of the opposite sex and are resistive to medical or psychological intervention or treatment. As to the nature of the sexual conduct, appellant had sex with a fifteen-year-old girl, videotaped the act, and told her to have her friends go to appellant's residence so that he could repeat those actions with them. Appellant was also heavily involved with commercial pornography, as several pornographic magazines and videotapes were found in his residence. The evidence before the trial court creates a firm conviction that appellant is "a person who has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to committing a sexually oriented offense and is likely to engage in the future in one or more sexually oriented offenses." R.C.
2950.01 (E). Accordingly, appellant's third assignment of error is overruled.
Appellant's assignments of error are overruled. The judgment of the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas is affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
The Court finds that there were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
We order that a special mandate issue out of this Court, directing the County of Lorain, Common Pleas Court, to carry this judgment into execution. A certified copy of this journal entry shall constitute the mandate, pursuant to App.R. 27.
Immediately upon the filing hereof, this document shall constitute the journal entry of judgment, and it shall be file-stamped by the Clerk of the Court of Appeals at which time the period for review shall begin to run. App.R. 22(E).
FOR THE COURT
BAIRD, P.J.
CARR, J.
CONCUR
(Quillin, J., retired Judge of the Ninth District Court of Appeals, sitting by assignment pursuant to Section 6(C), Article IV, Constitution.)
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.