Bryan v. State
| Docket Number | 2024-UP-132,Appellate Case 2019-001887 |
| Decision Date | 24 April 2024 |
| Parties | Rodney C. Bryan, Petitioner/Respondent, v. State of South Carolina, Respondent/Petitioner. |
| Court | South Carolina Court of Appeals |
THIS OPINION HAS NO PRECEDENTIAL VALUE. IT SHOULD NOT BE CITED OR RELIED ON AS PRECEDENT IN ANY PROCEEDING EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY RULE 268(d)(2), SCACR.
Heard December 6, 2023
Appeal From Lexington County Edgar W. Dickson, Post-Conviction Relief Judge
Appellant Defender Laura Mary Caudy, of Columbia, for Petitioner/Respondent.
Attorney General Alan M. Wilson and Assistant Attorney General Joshua Abraham Edwards, both of Columbia, for Respondent/Petitioner.
Rodney C. Bryan was convicted of criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature (CDVHAN), kidnapping, violating an order of protection, and one count of spousal sexual battery. After a complicated procedural history leading to our review of the post-conviction relief (PCR) court's order including the grant of a belated appeal, this matter is affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
In September 2007, a Lexington County grand jury indicted Bryan for violation of a court order of protection, CDVHAN, two counts of spousal sexual battery, and kidnapping stemming from a multi-day altercation with his wife (Victim) earlier that month.
Bryan and Victim share three children, A.B., D.B., and S.B., who were ten, seven, and four years old respectively at the time of trial. Julie Gies, the guidance counselor at A.B. and D.B.'s school, testified at trial she spoke with the children several days after the weekend incident at issue based on concerns expressed by A.B.'s teacher. Gies called the school's resource officer, Officer Brian Setree, to report the situation. The children were all taken into emergency protective custody (EPC).[1]
At trial, A.B. recalled that on Friday, Bryan and Victim picked up her, D.B., and S.B. from daycare. A.B. stated that Victim and Bryan got into a fight in the car and "Dad hit Mom and Momma hit the wheel." According to A.B., Victim then drove home and when they arrived, Bryan went beside the house where the phone line entered the house with a "cutting wire tool." A.B. testified Bryan came back into the house and Victim put on a movie. She explained Bryan tried to hurt Victim again, and she attempted to call the police however, the phone did not work. A.B. recalled she went outside and observed the cut phone line. According to A.B when she and D.B. tried to go to the neighbor's house, Bryan "rushed" over to D.B., picked him up by the stomach, and "squeezed" his waist. A.B. testified that the children started crying and Bryan put D.B. down. She explained that the next day, Bryan and Victim fought again. On Monday, A.B. returned to school.
D.B. testified similarly to his sister and stated they were going to call the police Friday evening but the phone was not working. He indicated they went outside and saw the phone line was cut. D.B. stated that when he tried to go to the neighbor's house to use the phone, his father grabbed him up and squeezed his stomach. D.B. testified he woke up Saturday night because he heard Victim and Bryan fighting. According to D.B., he walked into the living room and saw Bryan choking Victim. He explained Bryan told him to go back to bed and stopped choking Victim.
Victim testified she and Bryan were married and had three children together. She explained she obtained an order of protection against Bryan in March 2007. However, Bryan continued to call and come to her house, and in July 2007, she let Bryan move back into her house because he needed a place to stay. Victim stated that on Friday, September 14, 2007, she and Bryan drove to daycare to pick up their three children. She indicated that while Bryan was inside the daycare, she went through his phone. Victim testified that when he returned to the car, he saw what she had done, screamed at her, and hit her.
Victim testified the family arrived home and while the kids went inside, Bryan stayed outside. She explained the kids were crying and went to use the phone, but it did not work. Victim indicated she started a movie for the kids to watch and went into the bathroom. She stated Bryan came in and choked her, pulled her hair, and slapped her again. Victim recalled that later that night, she put the children to bed and went to sleep on the couch, but Bryan woke her up and said she had to sleep in the bed because he did not want her to leave in the middle of the night. She explained he took her into the bedroom and had sex with her, but she did not want to have sex with him. Victim indicated that although she cried, she did not fight him because he held her arms down.
Victim testified that on Saturday, she tried to make it through the day, "moment by moment," and that every so often, Bryan would scream at her. She stated that when she thought Bryan was taking a shower in the evening, she tried to walk out the door, and he came around the corner and grabbed her arm stating, According to Victim, Bryan told her to sit on the couch and he paced back and forth in front of her before starting to choke her. She stated he took out his pocket knife and alternated between choking her and gesturing with his knife, stating, "I'm gonna f**** kill you." Victim explained D.B. came into the room, but she did not hear what D.B. said because she was trying to breathe. She stated Bryan then grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to the bedroom. According to Victim, Bryan told her to have oral sex with him, but when she refused, he pushed her down and had sex with her. When questioned why she did not fight back, Victim replied, "It was like it was happening to someone else; it wasn't really me that it was happening to."
When Victim was asked why she did not leave to go to a neighbor's house, she replied she did not think she could take the kids and make it out of the yard. Victim testified she could not remember what happened on Sunday morning but that even if Bryan had left the house, she would not have left because she "gave up" and felt embarrassed and humiliated. Victim indicated police came to her house the following Thursday; however, she did not tell them what happened because she believed that even if police arrested Bryan, he would be out of jail in a short time and would be angry that she turned him into police. She explained she later found out her children were taken into EPC and Bryan was arrested.
On cross-examination, trial counsel questioned Victim regarding her ability to remember details from the weekend. Trial counsel also asked Victim whether she could leave the house that weekend, and Victim acknowledged it was "common sense" that she could have gone to the neighbor's house. However, she also stated Trial counsel asked Victim, "Do you have times when you don't remember things a lot?" Victim responded, "When I'm hit in the head a lot, yeah." Victim acknowledged that during her job as a correctional officer with the Department of Corrections, she received self-defense training to assist her in the event someone assaulted her at work. She also stated she did not report any allegations to police until her children were removed from her custody.
Dr. Catherine Ross, who was qualified as an expert in the field of criminal domestic violence, testified she conducted individual counseling in a community program with Sistercare. She explained she met with Victim once before trial, in November 2007, and she had been present in the courtroom when Victim testified. The solicitor asked Dr. Ross, "Was there anything about [Victim's] ability to remember or not remember that was-was that consistent or inconsistent with a woman who's been a victim of domestic violence?" She replied, "It's very, very consistent; very consistent." Dr. Ross continued,
Dr. Ross further testified that Victim's actions were "very consistent with a person who's been a victim of domestic violence." Regarding her failure to call police, Dr. Ross stated, "It's consistent because part of the trauma is-especially after being choked [and] being raped, she's in shock." She explained Victim's reluctance to ask police for help when they came to her house was "very consistent" with "traumatic bonding." Dr. Ross further indicated that Victim's failure to report the abuse until her children were in EPC and Bryan was arrested was "very consistent" as part of a "post-traumatic stress response." When asked whether there was anything in Victim's testimony that was "inconsistent with a woman who's been a victim of domestic violence, who's been kidnapped by her spouse, or has been raped by her spouse?" Dr. Ross declared Trial counsel did not object to any of the questions or responses.
Officer Setree testified that after he was contacted by the school guidance counselor, he began investigating the family and discovered Victim had an active order of protection against Bryan. Officer Setree indicated that after he spoke to A.B and D.B., police arrested Bryan. According to Officer Setree, five days after Bryan's arrest, Officer Setree met Victim for the first time at the courthouse for an EPC hearing. A few days after the hearing, Officer Setree went to Victim's home. He testified ...
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