Schlesselman v. State, A15A0118.

• Decision Date: 10 June 2015
• Docket Number: No. A15A0118.,A15A0118.
• Citation: 773 S.E.2d 413,332 Ga.App. 453
• Parties: SCHLESSELMAN v. The STATE.
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

332 Ga.App. 453

773 S.E.2d 413

SCHLESSELMAN

v.The STATE.

No. A15A0118.

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

June 10, 2015.

The Hames Law Firm, Adam Marshall Hames, for Appellant.

Richard Ashley Mallard, Dist. Atty., Benjamin T. Edwards, Asst. Dist. Atty., for Appellee.

Opinion

BOGGS, Judge.

A jury found Steven Schlesselman guilty of computer child exploitation and attempted child molestation. Schlesselman appeals, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence. For reasons that follow, we affirm.

On appeal from a criminal conviction, the defendant no longer enjoys a presumption of innocence, and the evidence must be construed in the light most favorable to the verdict. See Collins v. State, 276 Ga.App. 358, 623 S.E.2d 192 (2005). We do not weigh the evidence or resolve issues of witness credibility, but merely determine whether the jury was authorized to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. See id.

So viewed, the evidence shows that in May 2012, Effingham County Sheriff's Investigator Joe Heath commenced a proactive child internet exploitation investigation. As part of the investigation, he created a profile on motherless.com, a social media website catering to persons with various sexual fantasies and fetishes, many involving children. Describing himself as a 39–year–old single mother trying to make money with her daughter's help, Heath posted the profile under the user name “GeorgiaJenn” and asked other site users to send “her” an email if “you are in Georgia and like young and just wanna hook up.”

Several months later, Heath received an email from an individual who asked whether GeorgiaJenn “still needed some financial help.” Although the individual used the screen name “Loadedgunaz,” the email identified Schlesselman as the sender. Heath responded as GeorgiaJenn, indicating that she was “looking for $150 and offering a 14 year old female to keep [you] company for an afternoon.” Loadedgunaz replied that he wanted to spend time with GeorgiaJenn and might be flying into Atlanta in December. GeorgiaJenn emailed back, stating: “I am currently seeing someone, but if you were truly interested in seeing my daughter that would be fine.” Noting that she lived several hours from Atlanta, she suggested that Loadedgunaz spend the night at her house. In response, Loadedgunaz inquired “what a night of companionship and lodging might go for?” GeorgiaJenn replied:

My boyfriend will not be here. .... but you must understand you would be welcome in my house but [I] do not cheat. My daughter likes older men and sees a couple on a regular basis. She is 14, and more than willing to make your stay a pleasant one. 1 nights [sic] lodging will be $175 ... fair?

Loadedgunaz responded: “That sounds more than fair. What guidelines do u have for the overnight visit?” Explaining the “guidelines,” GeorgiaJenn stated, “no hitting and no anal ... other than that she is pretty open.” Loadedgunaz replied, “[s]ounds good.”

Shortly before the scheduled visit, Loadedgunaz provided GeorgiaJenn with a cell phone number and asked her to text him “if we are on.” GeorgiaJenn assured him that she and her daughter were “ready for [the] visit.” On the appointed day, the two texted back and forth, arranging to meet at a gas station. Heath and several other officers subsequently found Schlesselman at the meeting place. They arrested him and, during a search incident to arrest, discovered $297 in cash on his person. The officers also seized a cell phone from Schlesselman's car. The telephone number assigned to the phone matched the contact number that Loadedgunaz had provided to GeorgiaJenn. A search of the cell phone also revealed text messages about the meeting and a recent Internet search for “internet underage sex stings in [G]eorgia.”

1. Schlesselman argues that the State presented insufficient evidence to support his conviction for attempted child molestation. “A person commits the offense of criminal attempt when, with intent to

commit a specific crime, he performs any act which constitutes a substantial step toward the commission of that crime.” OCGA § 16–4–1. To establish attempted child molestation, therefore, the State was required to prove that Schlesselman took a substantial step toward doing “any immoral or indecent act to or in the presence of or with any child under the age of 16 years with the intent to arouse or satisfy the sexual desires of either the child or [himself].” OCGA § 16–6–4(a)(1).

According to Schlesselman, he did not take a substantial step toward committing child molestation. We disagree. Through numerous email communications with GeorgiaJenn, whom he believed to be the mother of a 14–year–old girl, Schlesselman arranged to pay for a night of “companionship” with the child. He asked for and approved “guidelines” for the night, which can be construed as sexual in nature. He then traveled to Georgia by plane, drove from Atlanta to a designated meeting point, and waited with almost $300 in cash for GeorgiaJenn to arrive. At some point, he also researched underage sex stings on his cell phone.

Although Schlesselman's communications did not describe any particular sexual acts that he intended to perform with the child, “[i]ntent, which is a mental attitude, can be inferred.” (Punctuation omitted.) Collins, supra at 359(1), 623 S.E.2d 192. And whether a defendant possessed the necessary intent is “a question of fact for the jury after considering all the circumstances surrounding the acts of which the accused is charged.” (Punctuation omitted.) Id. Given the evidence presented, the jury was authorized to conclude that, with the intent of engaging in an immoral or indecent sexual act with a 14–year–old girl, Schlesselman took a substantial step toward committing the crime of child molestation. See Lopez v. State, 326 Ga.App. 770, 774(1)(b), 757 S.E.2d 436 (2014) (attempted child molestation conviction authorized where defendant communicated with an adult whom he believed to be a child and took substantial steps to meet that person to engage in sexual activity); Brown v. State, 321 Ga.App. 798, 800(1), 743 S.E.2d 474 (2013) (fact-finder authorized to conclude that defendant took a substantial step toward committing child molestation by traveling to an arranged location to have sexual intercourse with someone he believed to be a 14–year–old girl). Accordingly, the evidence was sufficient. See OCGA §§ 16–4–1 ; 16–6–4(a)(1); Lopez, supra; Brown, supra.

2. The jury also found Schlesselman guilty of violating the Computer or Electronic Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act, which, at the time of the offense, provided:

It shall be unlawful for any person intentionally or willfully to utilize a computer on-line service or Internet service, including but not limited to a local bulletin board service, Internet chat room, e-mail, on-line messaging service, or other electronic device, to seduce, solicit,

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