Commonwealth v. Renninger

• Decision Date: 03 January 2022
• Docket Number: 1294 WDA 2019
• Citation: 269 A.3d 548
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania v. Chad Aaron RENNINGER
• Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court

269 A.3d 548

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania

v.Chad Aaron RENNINGER

No. 1294 WDA 2019

Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Submitted August 24, 2021

Filed January 3, 2022

Blair H. Hindman, Clarion, for appellant.

Mark T. Aaron, Assistant District Attorney, Clarion, for Commonwealth, appellee.

BEFORE: PANELLA, P.J., BENDER, P.J.E., BOWES, J., LAZARUS, J., OLSON, J., DUBOW, J., KUNSELMAN, J., MURRAY, J., and McCAFFERY, J.

OPINION BY OLSON, J.:

Appellant, Chad Aaron Renninger, appeals from the July 10, 2019 judgment of sentence that imposed an aggregate sentence of 24 to 120 months' incarceration after a jury convicted Appellant of two counts of indecent assault of a child less than 13 years of age, 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 3126(a)(7). Appellant claims the trial court erred in denying his motions to quash the information, to transfer the case to the juvenile division, to sever cases, to compel discovery, and to dismiss pursuant to the infancy defense. He also argues the trial court abused its discretion in imposing its sentence and that it imposed an illegal sentence. We affirm Appellant's convictions but vacate his judgment of sentence and remand for re-sentencing.

On October 31, 2017, Appellant was charged with rape, aggravated indecent assault of a child, sexual assault, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, and indecent assault - child less than 13 years of age as to K.R.G.¹ a minor, and with indecent assault - child less than 13 years of age as to C.A.B., a minor.² See Criminal Complaint, 10/31/17, at 2-6. The criminal complaint alleged the offenses occurred "on or about" January 1, 1997, through June 30, 2001, and listed Appellant's birthday as February 1984, which meant Appellant was between 13 years old and 17 years old at the time of the offenses. Id. at 1. The affidavit of probable cause – which was attached to the criminal complaint filed against Appellant - stated:

[K.R.G.] disclosed acts of sexual assault that occurred against her by [Appellant] over a four-year span[, beginning] when [K.R.G.] was 8 years of age and conclud[ing] when [K.R.G.] was 12 years old. These acts included [Appellant] sticking his hands inside [K.R.G.'s] panties and touching her vaginal area, [Appellant] sticking his hands up [K.R.G.'s] shirt and touching her chest, and [Appellant] placing [K.R.G.'s] hands down his pants to have her touch his penis. When [K.R.G.] was 12 years old and [Appellant] was 17 years of age, [K.R.G.] was held against a wall of a second-story bathroom while [Appellant] forcefully inserted his penis into her vagina.

[C.A.B.] disclosed acts of indecent assault against her by [Appellant. C.A.B. stated these events occurred when she was climbing] into a pool at [Appellant's] residence. [C.A.B.] related she slipped from the ladder[,] and [Appellant] caught her by her hips. [C.A.B.] related [Appellant] then placed his hands on her vagina, over her bathing suit. [C.A.B.] was 7 years of age when this incident occurred while [Appellant] was 16 years old.

Id. at Affidavit of Probable Cause.

On May 17, 2018, the Commonwealth filed an amended information charging Appellant with the following offenses against K.R.G.: rape – child less than 13 years of age (one count), sexual assault (one count), statutory sexual assault (one count), aggravated indecent assault – child less than 13 years of age (two counts), and indecent assault – child less than 13 years of age (five counts).³ See Amended Information, 5/17/18, at 1-2. The amended information also charged Appellant with one count of indecent assault – child less than 13 years of age involving C.A.B.⁴ Id. at 2. The amended information stated that the incidents occurred "on or about" January 1, 1997. Id. at 1-2. The amended information, however, listed K.R.G.'s age as 12 years old for certain crimes and, for others, stated that the incidents happened "on numerous occasions" when K.R.G. was "under the age of 13[ years old.]" Id.

Appellant subsequently filed a motion for a bill of particulars, which the trial court granted on June 15, 2018. See Appellant's Motion for Bill of Particulars, 6/8/18; see also Trial Court Order, 6/15/18. On June 25, 2018, the Commonwealth filed a bill of particulars alleging that the charges of rape, sexual assault, statutory sexual assault, and aggravated indecent assault (2 counts), as well as one indecent assault charge, "occurred in May or June of 2001," in the second-floor bathroom of a specific address in Knox, Pennsylvania. See Commonwealth's Bill of Particulars, 6/25/18, at ¶¶1-5, ¶10. The bill of particulars further asserted that, at the time of the forementioned incidents, K.R.G. was 12 years old and Appellant was 17 years old. Id. The bill of particulars alleged that the remaining four indecent assault charges involving K.R.G. occurred between June 22, 1997, and June 22, 2002, when K.R.G. was between 8 years old and 12 years old. Id. at ¶¶6-9. These four indecent assault incidents occurred in an upstairs bedroom or upstairs bathroom of the same residence in Knox, Pennsylvania. Id.

The bill of particulars alleged that the conduct underlying the indecent assault charge against C.A.B. occurred at the Knox, Pennsylvania residence "during the warm weather months of 2000[,] when [C.A.B.] was 7 years old and [Appellant] was 16 years old." Id. at ¶11.

On August 2, 2018, Appellant filed an omnibus pre-trial motion and notice of infancy defense that included, inter alia , a motion to quash the information and dismiss the prosecution because the date of the incidents alleged in the information (on or about January 1, 1997) did not comport with the dates alleged in the bill of particulars. See Appellant's Omnibus Pre-Trial Motion, 8/2/18, at ¶¶11-18. Appellant further argued that the dates in the information and the bill of particulars were impermissibly vague and indefinite; some of the counts charged were barred by the statute of limitations; the delay in prosecution was unreasonable, unduly prejudicial, and violative of Appellant's constitutional right to due process; the incidents asserted in the information did not occur on the dates alleged; and the delay in prosecution deprived Appellant of the right to be treated as a juvenile. Id. at ¶¶19-46. The omnibus pre-trial motion also included a motion to transfer the case to the juvenile division of the court of common pleas, a motion to sever the cases, and a notice of infancy defense.⁵ On August 7, 2018, the trial court denied a motion to compel discovery on the ground it was premature and scheduled a hearing on the motion to quash the information and dismiss the prosecution, the motion to transfer the case to the juvenile division, the motion to sever cases, the notice of infancy defense, and the motion to appoint an expert witness. The trial court deferred a decision on the petition for writ of habeas corpus until after deciding the motion to quash the information and dismiss the prosecution.⁶ See Trial Court Order, 8/7/18, at ¶¶1-4.

After entertaining argument on Appellant's omnibus pre-trial motion, the trial court, on October 29, 2018, denied the motion to quash and dismiss the prosecution; denied the motion to transfer the case to the juvenile division; ordered that an additional hearing be scheduled on the motion to sever the cases; and held that "[i]f [Appellant] was under [the] age of 14 [years old] at the time of the alleged offenses, he may be able to raise the common law defense of infancy[, h]owever, the [i]information should not be quashed for that reason." See Trial Court Opinion and Order, 10/29/18. On January 9, 2019, the trial court denied Appellant's motion to sever the cases, which he originally included within his omnibus pre-trial motion. See Trial Court Opinion and Order, 1/9/19.

On May 24, 2019, Appellant filed a consolidated pre-trial motion that included, inter alia , a motion to compel discovery of K.R.G.'s military discharge records. Appellant's Consolidated Pre-trial Motion, 5/24/19, at 26-46. The trial court ordered the Commonwealth to ask K.R.G. to produce information regarding her military discharge and, upon receipt, to provide such information to Appellant's counsel. Trial Court Order, 5/28/19, at ¶2. The Commonwealth contacted K.R.G., who indicated she would not provide a copy of the forms related to her discharge, as her discharge was not connected to the allegations made against Appellant. See Commonwealth Letter, 5/28/19. The trial court subsequently denied the motion to compel. Trial Court Order, 5/29/19.

On May 29, 2019, a jury convicted Appellant of two counts of indecent assault – child less than 13 years of age for his conduct relating to K.R.G. See Verdict Slip, 5/30/19; see also N.T., 5/29/19, at 144-145. As for the remaining charges involving Appellant's conduct toward K.R.G., the jury found Appellant not guilty of rape – child less than 13 years of age (1 count), aggravated indecent assault – child less than 13 years of age (2 counts), sexual assault (1 count), statutory sexual assault (1 count), and indecent assault – child less than 13 years of age (4 counts). See Verdict Slip, 5/30/19; see also N.T., 5/29/19, at 144-145. The jury also found Appellant not guilty of indecent assault – child less than 13 years of age (1 count) as to C.A.B. See Verdict Slip, 5/30/19; see also N.T., 5/29/19, at 144-145.

On July 10, 2019, the trial court sentenced Appellant to two consecutive terms of 12 to 60 months' imprisonment for the indecent assault – child less than 13 years of age convictions. See Sentence Order, 7/23/19; see also N.T., 7/10/19, at 11-12 This appeal follows.⁷

Appellant raises the following issues for our review:

1. Whether the trial court committed reversible error by denying [Appellant's] motion to quash the information?

2. Whether the trial court committed reversible error by denying [Appellant's] motion to transfer [his] case to [the] juvenile division?

3. Whether the trial court committed reversible error by denying [Appellant's] motion to sever [the]

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