State v. Smith, Unpublished Decision (6-22-1999)
State v. Smith, Unpublished Decision (6-22-1999)
Opinion of the Court
Gerald W. Smith, defendant-appellant, appeals the judgment of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, finding that he is a sexual predator. We affirm.
Appellant was accused of raping his girlfriend on February 6, 1988. The victim testified that the rapes occurred the morning after she informed appellant that she was pregnant with his child. During appellant's trial, the victim also testified that appellant forced her to perform fellatio, threw her against the bedroom wall, and inserted an electric candlestick into her vagina and anal cavity.
On October 20, 1988, a jury returned a verdict finding appellant guilty of felonious sexual penetration, a violation of former R.C.
On August 10, 1998, a sexual predator hearing was held for appellant and the trial court determined that appellant was a sexual predator. Appellant appeals this determination and presents the following assignments of error.
FIRST ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR: The evidence before the court was insufficient to support the finding appellant qualified as a sexual predator.
SECOND ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR: The trial court erroneously determined that R.C.
2950.09 (C) does not violate the ban on retroactive laws set forth in ArticleII , Section28 of the Ohio Constitution.THIRD ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR: The trial court erroneously determined that R.C.
2950.09 (C) does not violate the ban on ex post facto lawmaking by the states set forth in ArticleI , Section10 of the United States Constitution.FOURTH ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR: Section
2950.09 (C) of the Ohio Revised Code imposes multiple punishments for the same offense in violation of the Double Jeopardy Clause of theFifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and ArticleI , Section10 of the Ohio Constitution.FIFTH ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR: R.C.
2950.09 (C)'s differential treatment of those who remain incarcerated for what are now classified as sexually oriented offenses, and those convicted of comparable offenses who do not remain incarcerated in a state penal institution, is in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of theFourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the comparable guarantee of ArticleI , Section2 of the Ohio Constitution.SIXTH ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR: Section
2950.09 (C) of the Ohio Revised Code is unconstitutionally vague insofar as it fails to provide specific guidance to courts call upon to determine whether or not an inmate is a sexual predator, and as it fails to allocate the burden of proof.
Appellant argues in his first assignment of error that there was insufficient evidence to support a finding that he is a sexual predator. We disagree.
A sexual predator is defined as "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.
(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 be 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.
"[A]n appellate court in reviewing a finding that the appellant is a sexual predator 'must examine the record to determine whether the trier of fact had sufficient evidence before it to satisfy the clear and convincing standard.' "State v. Sturgill (May 4, 1999), Franklin App. Nos. 98AP-979, 98AP-980, unreported (1999 Opinions 1043, 1047), quoting Statev. Johnson (Sept. 24, 1998), Franklin App. Nos. 97APA12-1585, 97APA12-1589, unreported (1998 Opinions 4551, 4558). Clear and convincing evidence is that measure or degree of proof which is more than a mere preponderance of the evidence, but not to the extent of such certainty as is required beyond a reasonable doubt in criminal cases, and which will provide in the mind of the trier of facts a firm belief or conviction as to the facts sought to be established. Sturgill, at 1047, followingCincinnati Bar Assn. v. Massengale (1991),
In the present case, the state presented evidence that appellant had been convicted of committing a sexually oriented offense. R.C.
The state also presented evidence that appellant is likely to engage in the future in one or more sexually oriented offenses. Two psychologists after assessing appellant on April 15, 1996, stated the following:
[Appellant] would best be typed as an anger rapist. He is also likely to be impulsive and explosive. His assaultive behavior was seen as a retaliatory aggression as a way of getting even or undoing a perceived wrong. Because of [appellant's] overwhelming need to control others, he struck out when his victim refused to comply with his demands for an abortion. [Appellant] is seen as a relatively high risk to engage in this kind of offense again. He has such a high need for control that whenever he is frustrated or someone makes him extremely upset it would not at all be unlikely that he would let his anger explode again into another type of assault. Clearly if the person involved [is] a woman, a repeat sex offense could very possibly occur.
Additionally, the trial court in its judgment entry discussed each of the factors contained in R.C.
Accordingly, after having reviewed the record, we find that there was sufficient evidence for the trial court to find by clear and convincing evidence that appellant is a sexual predator. Appellant's first assignment of error is overruled.
Appellant argues in his second assignment of error that R.C.
Appellant argues in his third assignment of error that R.C.
Appellant argues in his fourth assignment of error that R.C.
Appellant argues in his fifth assignment of error that R.C.
Appellant argues in his sixth assignment of error that R.C.
Accordingly, appellant's assignments of error are overruled, and the judgment of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas is affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
LAZARUS, P.J., and BOWMAN, J., concur.
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