State v. Bast, Unpublished Decision (9-20-1999)
State v. Bast, Unpublished Decision (9-20-1999)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
Appellant Rachelle Lee Bast appeals a judgment of the Stark County Common Pleas Court convicting her of one count of promoting prostitution (R.C.II. THE JURY'S VERDICT FINDING THE APPELLANT GUILTY OF PROMOTING PROSTITUTION WAS AGAINST THE MANIFEST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE.
III. THE PROSECUTOR'S CONDUCT DURING CLOSING ARGUMENTS WAS IMPROPER AND PREJUDICIAL AND DEPRIVED THE APPELLANT OF HER RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL IN CONTRAVENTION OF THE
IV. THE APPELLANT WAS DENIED THE RIGHT TO RIGHT TO [SIC] EFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL.
On August 31, 1997, the Canton Police Department received a citizen's complaint regarding the existence of a brothel at 704 Roslyn Avenue S.W. in the City of Canton. Using the name "Robert Jones," the complainant had set up an appointment with an escort service called "A Taste of Pleasure." Robert spoke to a woman who identified herself as Samantha. Samantha instructed him to meet her at the Roslyn Avenue address. Posing as Robert Jones, Canton Police Detective Bill Adams went to the Roslyn Avenue address. Melody Wilcox greeted Detective Adams at the door. She was wearing a robe. While Adams waited on the couch, Wilcox telephoned the escort service to inform the service that her client had arrived. Wilcox then asked Adams if he knew the fee schedule. He responded that he did not . She told Adams that a full body massage, while she was wearing a bikini top and bikini bottom, would cost $100.00. Adams immediately paid the $100.00, and Wilcox took him to an upstairs bedroom. She took off her robe to reveal the bikini top and bottom. She explained that for an additional $50.00 she would remove her top, and for another $50.00 she would remove her bottom. She explained that she was prohibited from having sexual intercourse with him, but for an additional $50.00 she would help him "jack off." Tr. 205. Adams repeated a code word to call fellow officers who were waiting outside the residence. When Wilcox answered the door, the officers entered the residence and placed her under arrest. When Adams came down stairs, he noticed a picture of appellant on the wall. He recognized appellant, and asked Wilcox if appellant stayed at the residence. Wilcox told Adams that the house belonged to appellant. Adams later interviewed Wilcox. She told officers that it was against the rules of the service for sexual activity to take place between the women and the customers. She stated that the money she received that night was going to be paid to appellant. Wilcox was subsequently convicted of soliciting prostitution. Appellant was arrested several days after Wilcox's arrest. After waiving her Miranda rights, appellant gave a statement to Adams. Appellant told Adams that other women from the escort service, besides Melody Wilcox, used her home to meet clients. Appellant stated that the women turned their fees over to her, and she in turn turned the money over to her mother, who operated the escort service. Appellant stated that the escort service did not allow sexual contact or intercourse between the women and the clients, but it was an unwritten rule that the girls would masturbate their clients or have sex with them. Approximately three months before Wilcox's arrest, Canton Police had received another citizen's complaint regarding a prostitution service posing as an escort service. Detective Joseph Pileggi, of the Canton Police Department, met appellant at a room in the downtown Canton Hilton Hotel. When appellant came into the hotel, she asked Pileggi if anyone had explained the fee schedule to him. She explained that for $100.00, she would give him a full body massage while she was dressed in her bra and panties. Pileggi paid appellant the $100.00, and appellant telephoned the service to inform them that she had obtained her fees. She then stripped to her bra and panties, and began giving Pileggi a full body massage. She told him that the women worked on tips, and that she would remove her top for an extra $50.00, and her bottom for another $50.00. She told him that many of the girls would masturbate their clients for an additional $100.00. Pileggi paid her an additional $100.00. She told him that she had not had sexual intercourse in the past two months, and that for the extra $100.00, she would have intercourse with him. She then produced a condom from her purse. Pileggi got up from the bed, said a key word, and back up officers entered the room and arrested appellant. As a result, appellant was convicted of soliciting. Appellant was indicted on one count of promoting prostitution in violation of R.C.
Appellant argues that she was not aware that the girls who worked for the escort service were engaging in sexual activity with the clients, as such activity was prohibited by the service. Further, she argues that all money she received was turned over to her mother, who actually ran the service. The jury heard evidence that Wilcox offered to masturbate Detective Adams, during an appointment in appellant's home. She testified at trial that she was going to give the money she received from Detective Adams to appellant, who would in turn give the money to her mother. Detective Adams testified concerning his interview with appellant. Appellant admitted during the interview that other women from the escort service had used her home, that the women from the service had turned their fees over to her, and that she then turned the fees over to her mother. Appellant further admitted that although the service did not allow sexual activity between the women and the clients, it was an unwritten rule that the women either masturbated their clients or had intercourse with them. Although appellant may ultimately have turned the money over to her mother, there was sufficient evidence to support a finding that she helped operate and manage the service, with knowledge that the girls would engage in sexual activity with the clients. The judgment is not against the manifest weight of the evidence. The second assignment of error is overruled.
WE KNOW ALL ABOUT HER EARLIER CONVICTION FOR SOLICITATION, AND AT THAT TIME SHE WAS WORKING FOR ANOTHER AGENCY; AND WE KNOW THAT THE ACTS THAT TOOK PLACE THERE WERE CARRIED OVER INTO HER NEW VENTURE WHEN SHE STARTED HER OWN OPERATION.
Tr. 240.
Appellant argues that there is no evidence that she started her own escort service, as the evidence reflected that her mother started the escort service. The evidence reflected that at the time of her conviction for solicitation, appellant was working for a different escort service. The record reflects that the fee schedule used by "A Taste of Pleasure" was identical to the fee schedule quoted by appellant to Detective Pileggi while she was working for a different service. Further, there was evidence that the girls used appellant's home for appointments, and that they turned their money over to appellant. The prosecutor's comment that appellant started the operation was a fair comment on the evidence. Appellant also argues that the prosecutor improperly commented on the credibility of the officers:
THESE OFFICERS, THEY HAVE NO MOTIVE TO LIE. THEY GO OUT, THEY DO THEIR JOB. THEY HOPE IT BRINGS IN A CONVICTION. IF IT DOESN'T, THEY GO ON AND THEY DO THEIR JOB AGAIN. THEY HAVE NO MOTIVE TO COME INTO THIS COURTROOM AND LIE.
Tr. 246-247.
A prosecutor can bolster his own witnesses, and conclude by saying, in effect, "the evidence supports the conclusions that these witnesses are telling the truth." State v. Draugn (1992),
As we found no prosecutorial misconduct in the statements, counsel was not ineffective for failing to object.
The fourth assignment of error is overruled.
The judgment of the Stark County Common Pleas Court is affirmed.
By Gwin, J., Wise, P.J., and Hoffman, J., concur
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