Deephouse v. State
Docket Number | S-22-0174 |
Decision Date | 25 April 2023 |
Citation | 527 P.3d 1261 |
Parties | Ricky Alan DEEPHOUSE, Appellant (Defendant), v. The STATE of Wyoming, Appellee (Plaintiff). |
Court | Wyoming Supreme Court |
Representing Appellant: Office of the State Public Defender: Diane Lozano, Wyoming State Public Defender; Kirk A. Morgan, Chief Appellate Counsel; Joanne S. Zook, Steiner, Fournier, and Zook, LLC, Cheyenne Wyoming.
Representing Appellee: Bridget Hill, Attorney General; Jenny L. Craig, Deputy Attorney General; Kristen R. Jones, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Kristine D. Rude, Assistant Attorney General.
Before FOX, C.J., and KAUTZ, BOOMGAARDEN, GRAY, and FENN, JJ.
[¶1] Ricky Alan Deephouse was charged with two counts of third-degree sexual abuse of a minor, and a jury convicted him of one count. He challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction. We affirm.
[¶2] The sole issue on appeal is whether the evidence was sufficient to support Mr. Deephouse's conviction.
[¶3] In August 2019, DT reported to law enforcement that her uncle, Mr. Deephouse, had sexually assaulted her multiple times over a period of years. Her recollection of many of the incidents was vague, but she was able to describe two incidents in greater detail, including one that her father witnessed and corroborated. Law enforcement focused its investigation on those two incidents.
[¶4] In November 2020, the State charged Mr. Deephouse with two counts of third-degree sexual abuse of a minor (referred to herein as Count I and Count II). Count I alleged an act that occurred in the approximate period of November 1, 2017, to December 31, 2017. Count II alleged an earlier act that occurred in the approximate period of August 1, 2016, to October 31, 2017.
[¶5] At trial DT testified concerning Count II, which was the earlier of the charged incidents, that when she was fifteen years old Mr. Deephouse forced her to have sexual intercourse with him. She had gone to his home to borrow some sugar for her grandmother, who lived next door. She testified:
[¶6] Concerning Count I, the later of the charged incidents, DT testified that in November 2017, she was sixteen and had gone to Mr. Deephouse's home with her father. When DT's father went outside to smoke a cigarette and get his phone, Mr. Deephouse pulled her into a bedroom, forced her onto the bed, removed her pants, and had sexual intercourse with her. She testified her father returned and saw what was happening.
[¶7] Brad Tennant, DT's father, testified similarly. He recounted that he had gone to Mr. Deephouse's home with his daughter and stepped outside for a cigarette. When he reentered the home, he did not see DT or Mr. Deephouse so he went looking for them. He looked in a couple of rooms and then opened a closed bedroom door. He testified:
[¶8] Mr. Tennant testified he did not report the incident at that time because he was trying to protect DT from "further embarrassment, possibly trauma, having to tell what happened." The State also presented the testimony of Dr. Matt Gray, a clinical psychologist and professor of clinical psychology who specializes in trauma. He testified to reasons victims of sexual assault, especially children, may be reluctant to disclose incidents of sexual assault. He also testified that it is common for a victim of sexual assault, especially teenagers, to disclose to friends and then recant when questioned by authorities. He explained why victims who have been subjected to multiple incidents of sexual assault have difficulty differentiating between them and remembering specific dates and time frames of the assaults. And he testified that it is common for a non-offending family member with knowledge of abuse to be reluctant to report the abuse and possible reasons for that reluctance.
[¶9] The jury convicted Mr. Deephouse of Count I, the later incident witnessed by DT's father, and acquitted him of Count II, the earlier incident. The district court entered judgment and sentenced him to a prison term of four to eight years. Mr. Deephouse timely appealed.
Morris v. State, 2023 WY 4, ¶ 26, 523 P.3d 293, 298 (Wyo. 2023) (quoting Bezold v. State, 2021 WY 124, ¶ 11, 498 P.3d 73, 76 (Wyo. 2021) ).
[¶11] To prove Mr. Deephouse was guilty of sexual abuse of a minor in the third degree as alleged in Count I, the State had to prove:
[¶12] In support of his claim the evidence was insufficient to make this showing, Mr. Deephouse first inexplicably points to DT's testimony concerning the incident alleged in Count II, the count for which he was acquitted. He argues DT was only able to identify the date of the incident alleged in Count II, her age on that date, and Mr. Deephouse's age with the aid of the prosecutor's leading questions. He contends such testimony, elicited through leading questions, is insufficient to support a conviction. But again, Mr. Deephouse was acquitted of Count II, so he can claim no prejudice from the line of questioning that he cites. See Schmuck v. State , 2017 WY 140, ¶ 41, 406 P.3d 286, 300 (Wyo. 2017) (); Bruce v. State, 2015 WY 46, ¶ 58, 346 P.3d 909, 927 (Wyo. 2015) (). We therefore will not consider Mr. Deephouse's claims concerning the testimony supporting Count II.
[¶13] Mr. Deephouse next asserts that through cross-examination and other evidence, he was able to show inconsistencies between DT's testimony and her prior statements to officials. He contends this shows her testimony lacked credibility and could not support his conviction on Count I.
[¶14] This argument ignores our standard of review. We must accept the State's evidence as true, and we do not reweigh the evidence or reexamine witness credibility. Morris , 2023 WY 4, ¶ 26, 523 P.3d at 298 ; see also Lubing v. Tomlinson , 2020 WY 105, ¶ 40, 469 P.3d 375, 388 (Wyo. 2020) (...
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