State v. Barrett, Unpublished Decision (9-5-2006)
State v. Barrett, Unpublished Decision (9-5-2006)
Opinion of the Court
{¶ 2} In June of 2005, Barrett was indicted on one count of rape of a child less than thirteen years old in violation of R.C.
{¶ 3} In October of 2005, Barrett pled no contest to the offense. Pursuant to a plea agreement, Barrett agreed to plea no contest to an amended charge of first degree rape, which was punishable by a maximum term of ten years imprisonment. Additionally, Barrett's plea was based upon the following factual stipulations:
1. That the incident occurred on June 9, 2005 in DefianceCounty, Ohio; 2. That the Defendant is an adult male, DOB: 01/22/86; 3. That the victim was a male child less than thirteen (13)years of age, to wit: age four (4) at the time of the incident; 4. That the child victim was not the spouse of the Defendant; 5. That the Defendant made a voluntary admission to the policeofficer following appropriate Miranda Warnings, admitting that heput the victim's penis in his mouth for "about 30 seconds". It isnot disputed that there was contact between the mouth and thepenis. 6. That the child victim made an excited utterance to hismother shortly after the act occurred stating "Troy sucked mypee-pee."
{¶ 4} Based upon the above stipulations, the trial court entered Barrett's plea of no contest and found Barrett guilty of first degree rape. Subsequently, the trial court sentenced Barrett to a term of nine years in prison.
{¶ 5} It is from this judgment Barrett appeals, presenting the following assignments of error for our review.
{¶ 6} In the first assignment of error, Barrett asserts that the facts described in the stipulation of facts do not constitute the act of rape. In the second assignment of error, Barrett asserts that the evidence is insufficient to support the charged offense. Because these assignments of error are interrelated, we elect to address them together.
{¶ 7} R.C.
{¶ 8} In In re M.D. (1988),
{¶ 9} In the case sub judice, Barrett contends that based upon the above definition, he cannot be charged with rape by fellatio in this case. Specifically, Barrett argues that the above definition requires the defendant's penis be orally stimulated. Thus, Barrett asserts that because his own penis was not orally stimulated, the act of fellatio was never committed and, thus, the charge of rape cannot stand.
{¶ 10} We reject Barrett's argument. First, while we acknowledge the above definition put forth by the Supreme Court in In re M.D., we do not believe that the Supreme Court would support such a narrow construction of its definition. Furthermore, several other Ohio Appellate Courts, including this Court, have relied upon much broader definitions of fellatio. Specifically, this Court has stated that "`fellatio' is defined in 4 Ohio Jury Instructions (1994) 165, Section
{¶ 11} Thus, relying upon the definition put forth in Statev. Clark, supra, we find the stipulation of facts set forth above clearly constitutes the act of fellatio. Accordingly, Barrett's conduct meets the elements of rape and the first assignment of error is overruled.
{¶ 12} Barrett also asserts that the stipulation of facts fails to establish the necessary element of sexual gratification. Specifically, Barrett argues that the stipulation of facts only establishes penetration, which is insufficient to support his conviction for rape. Barrett again relies upon the In re M.D. case.
{¶ 13} In In re M.D., the Supreme Court found that mere penetration was not enough to support a charge of rape based upon fellatio.
{¶ 14} A closer read of In re M.D. establishes that the Supreme Court did not rely upon the age of the alleged victim and that child's inability to be orally stimulated as the basis for its decision to disallow prosecution. Again, the Supreme Court ultimately relied upon the facts and circumstances of that case and public policy. Additionally, there was no evidence that the twelve year old being prosecuted was motivated by sexual gratification. As such, we find the facts and circumstances in this case clearly distinguishable from the facts in In re M.D.
{¶ 15} Furthermore, this Court has held that "the existence of prurient motivation may be discerned from the type, nature and circumstances of the contact * * *." State v. Jones (July 22, 1998), 3d Dist. No. 2-98-1,
{¶ 16} Having found no error prejudicial to the appellant herein, in the particulars assigned and argued, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Judgment affirmed. Bryant, P.J., and Cupp, J., concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- State of Ohio v. Troy W. Barrett
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Unpublished