State v. Allmon, Unpublished Decision (7-10-2000)
State v. Allmon, Unpublished Decision (7-10-2000)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
Appellant Douglas Allmon appeals his conviction, in the Stark County Court of Common Pleas, for one count of gross sexual imposition. The following facts give rise to this appeal. On September 3, 1997, Kimberly Mitchell, the mother of the seven-year-old victim in this matter, took her daughter to appellant's apartment because appellant agreed to take the child to school that day. However, instead of taking the child to school, appellant remained with her at the apartment. Appellant had the child sit on his lap while they watched television and played cards. While seated on his lap, appellant moved his penis beneath her. Appellant also touched the child's vagina, with his hand, under her clothes, and made the child touch his exposed penis. Kimberly Mitchell returned to appellant's apartment after receiving a phone call from the child's school that she was absent. Upon arriving at the apartment, Ms. Mitchell noticed that the child appeared upset and scared. Ms. Mitchell asked the child to step outside appellant's apartment and talk to her. The child became agitated, started talking fast and eventually began to cry. The child told Ms. Mitchell what appellant did to her. Ms. Mitchell placed the child in her vehicle and proceeded to confront appellant. Appellant did not deny the allegations and merely apologized. Ms. Mitchell did not immediately report the incident to the authorities for fear that the Stark County Department of Human Services would remove the child from her home. However, shortly after this incident, the child began to exhibit unusual, negative and destructive behavior. The child began to describe herself as fat, ugly and stupid. The child would dig her fingernails into her arm and bang her head against a wall. The child also had difficulty sleeping at night and would lie awake and scream. The child would also not obey Ms. Mitchell. During one incident, the child, while staying at a friend's house, intentionally abused her friend's new puppy. The child also began talking about sexy clothes, sexy boys and sex in general. Ms. Mitchell informed appellant how her daughter had been behaving since the incident and appellant offered to pay for the child to see a child psychologist for therapy. Finally, by late October, Ms. Mitchell became so concerned about the child's behavior that she took her to the Aultman Family Practice for medical testing related to sexual abuse. Ms. Mitchell wanted to determine if there was evidence of the sexual abuse such as penetration. The examination occurred on October 30, 1997, and the doctor found no physical evidence of sexual abuse. However, the doctor advised Ms. Mitchell to report the matter to the authorities, which she did not do until after Christmas. On January 2, 1998, Ms. Mitchell took the child to the Jackson Township Police Department. Ms. Mitchell and the child spoke to Officer Daniel Kunkel. Ms. Mitchell told Officer Kunkel about the incident. Officer Kunkel spoke to the child, separately, after which he referred the matter to the detective bureau. Thereafter, in February 1998, the child began seeing Dr. David Coleman, a child psychologist. Over the course of six sessions, Dr. Coleman noted that the child's description of her encounters with appellant remained consistent. Dr. Coleman also confirmed that the child suffered from low self-esteem. Dr. Coleman requested and received, from the child's teacher, a completed behavior rating scale. The teacher's observations were consistent with Ms. Mitchell's description of the child's hyperactivity and other behavioral changes. In February 1999, the Stark County Grand Jury indicted appellant for one count of gross sexual imposition. Appellant entered a plea of not guilty. Immediately prior to trial, Appellee State of Ohio moved to amend the indictment concerning the time frame of the incident. The indictment and bill of particulars alleged conduct occurring from September 1 to September 30, 1997. The requested amendment expanded the period of time from June 1 to October 31, 1997. Appellant objected to the requested amendment on the basis that he was only prepared to defend appellant for the month of September 1997. The trial court granted the amendment. Appellant asked for a continuance of the trial date in order to prepare a defense based on the expanded period of time. The trial court overruled appellant's motion. At the conclusion of trial, the jury found appellant guilty as charged in the indictment. At a subsequent, separate sentencing hearing conducted on June 14, 1999, the trial court classified appellant as a "sexually oriented offender" and sentenced appellant to a determinate term of three years incarceration. Appellant timely filed a notice of appeal and sets forth the following assignments of error for our consideration:I. THE JUDGMENT RENDERED BY THE TRIAL COURT WAS AGAINST THE MANIFEST WEIGHT AND SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE.
II. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED AND ABUSED ITS DISCRETION BY DENYING APPELLANT'S MOTION FOR A CONTINUANCE AFTER ALLOWING THE STATE TO AMEND THE INDICTMENT IMMEDIATELY BEFORE TRIAL.
III. THE PROSECUTOR MADE SEVERAL STATEMENTS IN HIS CLOSING ARGUMENT WHICH WERE SO PREJUDICIAL AS TO AFFECT APPELLANT'S CONSTITUTIONALLY PROTECTED RIGHTS.
IV. TRIAL COURT ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW BY NOT FOLLOWING THE MANDATES OF R.C. 2950 IN CATEGORIZING APPELLANT AS A SEXUAL PREDATOR.
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(4) The other person, or one of the other persons, is less than thirteen years of age, whether or not the offender knows the age of that person.
At trial, the victim in this case identified appellant as the person who touched her vagina and forced her to touch his penis. Based on the victim's school attendance records, the state also established that this incident occurred on September 3, 1997, at appellant's apartment in Jackson Township. The jury's verdict is supported by the sufficiency of the evidence because the evidence presented by the state supports a conviction for the crime of gross sexual imposition. Appellant also claims the jury's verdict is against the manifest weight of the evidence. In support of this argument, appellant argues that the victim is unable to remember many important matters regarding her allegations of sexual abuse. Specifically, appellant refers to the victim's testimony regarding an incident when she slept with appellant and her mother, on the floor at appellant's apartment, and appellant touched her under her clothing. At trial, the victim testified that she thought she dreamt this happened but does not remember dreaming. Tr. Vol. II at 145. Even if the victim is unsure about this specific incident, the charge against appellant is based on the incident that occurred on September 3, 1997. According to the victim's mother, the victim informed her immediately, upon arriving at appellant's apartment, what appellant did to her. The victim was upset and crying. Further, over the course of six sessions of counseling with Dr. Coleman, he testified, at trial, that the child's description of her encounters with appellant remained consistent. Id. at 263. Based on this evidence, we do not find in resolving conflicts in the evidence, the jury clearly lost its way and created a manifest miscarriage of justice. The jury's verdict is not against the manifest weight of the evidence. Appellant's First Assignment of Error is overruled.
The trial court enjoys broad discretion in granting or denying a continuance. State v. Unger (1981),
In the case sub judice, defense counsel requested a continuance because he was only prepared to defend appellant for events that occurred in September 1997 and not the expanded time frame of the amended indictment. However, evidence presented by the state indicates that the incident that formed the basis of this charge against appellant occurred on September 3, 1997. This date is within the time frame contained in the original indictment. It is also within the time frame defense counsel indicated he was prepared to represent appellant. As such, the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it denied appellant's motion for continuance. Appellant's Second Assignment of Error is overruled.
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the Court of Common Pleas, Stark County, Ohio, is hereby affirmed.
______________________ Wise, J.
By: Gwin, P.J., and Farmer, J., concur.
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