Cimildoro v. State
| Decision Date | 25 January 1990 |
| Docket Number | No. S89A0599,S89A0599 |
| Citation | 387 S.E.2d 335,259 Ga. 788 |
| Parties | CIMILDORO v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Steven Harrell, Perry, for Cimildoro.
Thomas C. Lawler III, Dist. Atty., Debra K. Turner, Donald L. Johstono, Asst. Dist. Attys., Lawrenceville, for State.
Anthony Cimildoro was convicted of enticing a child for indecent purposes. He appeals, challenging the constitutionality of OCGA § 24-3-16, which permits certain hearsay evidence to be introduced in child molestation cases. He also challenges the sufficiency of the evidence against him. We affirm the conviction.
1. We address first the sufficiency of the evidence. Cimildoro asserts that there was insufficient evidence of asportation, an element of the crime of enticing a child for indecent purposes. He asserts that proof of physical "taking," rather than enticing or luring, is required in this case because the indictment alleged that he "unlawfully [took the child] to a place, to wit: a tool storage room and a vacant apartment ..." He further asserts that the only evidence of asportation was contained in hearsay statements related to the jury by the investigating police officer and the Family and Children Services caseworker. This evidence, he suggests, is constitutionally insufficient to support a conviction.
We disagree. The case involved two incidents, one that took place in a tool shed and one that took place in a vacant apartment. The child testified that she walked into the tool shed "with [Cimildoro] because I was just walking with him." Once inside, he persuaded her to lie down on a board so that he could molest her. In the other instance, she testified that she entered the vacant apartment on her own volition. But, again, once inside Cimildoro took her to a bedroom where he convinced her to lie down on a stool in order to molest her.
The offense described in OCGA § 16-6-5, "enticing a child for indecent purposes," has been held to include the element of "asportation." See, e.g., Dennis v. State, 158 Ga.App. 142, 279 S.E.2d 275 (1981). It does not, however, require "abduction." A child may be "taken" by persuasion, enticement or temptation. The statute itself describes the various ways that a child may be "taken." It provides, "A person commits the offense of enticing a child for indecent purposes when he solicits, entices, or takes any child under the age of 14 to any place whatsoever for the purpose of child molestation or indecent acts." OCGA § 16-6-5. We hold that the "asportation" element of the offense is satisfied whether the "taking" involves physical force, enticement, or persuasion.
The evidence in this case, even excluding the hearsay statements, amply supports the conclusion that defendant enticed, lured or convinced the child to go with him across the tool shed and onto a board and later into a bedroom for indecent purposes. This evidence is sufficient to satisfy the "taking" element of the offense. We therefore conclude that the evidence adduced at trial, when viewed in a light most favorable to the verdict, would authorize a rational trier of fact to find the defendant guilty of the offense charged beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979).
2. Next, Cimildoro challenges the constitutionality of OCGA § 24-3-16, which provides that "[a] statement...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Tezeno v. State, A17A1011
...statements to be a sufficient form of solicitation or enticement to support a conviction for this offense.3 See Cimildoro v. State, 259 Ga. 788, 789 (1), 387 S.E.2d 335 (1990) (asportation element of enticement offense is satisfied if child is persuaded, enticed, or tempted by defendant to ......
-
Miller v. State
...testimony to support a criminal conviction is "bounded by the substantive limits of the confrontation clause." Cimildoro v. State, 259 Ga. 788(2), 387 S.E.2d 335 (1990). "The crux of the question presented is ... whether the State, as the proponent of evidence presumptively barred by the he......
-
Jackson v. State
...on June 16, 1998. The case was docketed in this Court on September 2, 1998, and orally argued on November 9, 1998. 2. Cimildoro v. State, 259 Ga. 788, 387 S.E.2d 335 (1990). ...
-
Tudor v. State
...to satisfy this element of the crime, the evidence must show some movement of or by the child. See Cimildoro v. State, 259 Ga. 788, 789(1), 387 S.E.2d 335 (1990); Heard v. State, 317 Ga.App. 663, 665, 731 S.E.2d 124 (2012). As Tudor concedes in his brief, evidence showing even slight moveme......