Meaders v. United States, 84-822.

• Decision Date: 30 December 1986
• Docket Number: No. 84-822.,84-822.
• Citation: 519 A.2d 1248
• Parties: Troy V. MEADERS, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES, Appellee.
• Court: D.C. Court of Appeals

Page 1248

519 A.2d 1248

Troy V. MEADERS, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES, Appellee.

No. 84-822.

District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

Argued November 13, 1985.

Decided December 30, 1986.

James T. Wright, Washington, D.C., for appellant.

T. Mark Flanagan, Jr., Asst. U.S. Atty., Washington, D.C., with whom Joseph E. diGenova, U.S. Atty., and Michael W. Farrell, Asst. U.S. Atty., were on brief, for appellee. Christopher A. Myers, Asst. U.S. Atty., Washington, D.C., at the time the record was filed, also entered an appearance for appellee.

Before PRYOR, Chief Judge, TERRY, Associate Judge, and GALLAGHER, Senior Judge.

TERRY, Associate Judge:

Appellant appeals from his conviction of rape, in violation of D.C. Code § 22-2801 (1981). On appeal he contends that the trial court erred in refusing to admit into evidence portions of a written statement allegedly made by the victim to a defense investigator which contained comments about the victim's prior sexual relations with men; in prohibiting cross-examination of the victim about her prior sexual conduct with other men; and in refusing to admit a medical examination form describing the physical condition of the victim shortly after the rape. We reject all of appellant's arguments and affirm his conviction.

I

In May 1983 Mary Smith (not her real name) returned to her childhood home on Madison Street, N.W., to visit her aunt for a few days and to celebrate her nineteenth birthday. On the evening of May 17, the day after her birthday, her aunt sent her on an errand to a nearby store at Colorado Avenue and Kennedy Street. As she walked in that direction, Smith saw appellant standing on the corner in front of the store. She recognized him at once, for she had known him since childhood. They had lived only a few blocks apart, had attended the same schools, and had often played together. She had not seen him, however, since she moved away from the neighborhood a few months earlier, so she stopped to chat. After a brief conversation, the two of them agreed to smoke some marijuana together. They went to appellant's house a block away, at Colorado Avenue and Longfellow Street, where they sat on the porch, smoked one joint, and talked about old times. Smith denied that any discussion of sex occurred at this point. While they were there, appellant's father came outside and spoke with both of them.

Smith then walked back to her aunt's home to get a warmer jacket before proceeding downtown to a bar. Appellant accompanied her back to the house, riding alongside her on a bicycle. She went inside to get the jacket, and when she came out, appellant was still there. The two of them walked to the intersection of 14th and Longfellow Streets, where appellant left her and rode east on Longfellow Street on his bicycle. Smith continued down 14th Street, intending to walk until she could catch a bus.

After walking for about six blocks, Smith encountered appellant again in front of a building known in the neighborhood as "the mansion." He rode up on his bicycle and placed his arm around her, saying that he wanted a kiss. She told him she was not interested because she "like[d] the same thing he like[d]," meaning women. At that appellant became angry. He grabbed Smith and pushed her behind some bushes bordering the grounds of the mansion. Then he threw her to the ground, fell on top of her, and began to pull her clothes off. She fought back at first, but stopped when appellant threatened to kill her and punched her several times. Appellant pulled Smith's underpants and jeans down to her ankles, totally removing both garments from one leg. He inserted his penis into her vagina, saying that he was "going to bring the gayness out of [her], [that she] shouldn't be this way," and calling her a "gay bitch" and a lesbian. Smith started squirming to get closer to the sidewalk in the hope that someone might see her, but evidently no one did. After appellant completed the sex act, he began to choke her with his hands. She responded by screaming and struggling, trying to stick her fingers into his eyes. Finally she broke away and ran out into 14th Street, shouting for help and yelling that she had been raped. Her jeans were still down at her ankles. Several cars drove past without stopping, but soon a taxicab stopped and picked her up.¹

The cab driver took Smith to her aunt's home on Madison Street. During the assault, Smith's house keys had fallen from her pocket, so she had to bang on the door to get in. As soon as her aunt let her inside, Smith fell to the floor, screaming that she had been raped. Another relative who lived in the house testified that Smith's jeans were "partly on and partly off" and that she was wearing only one sneaker. Her aunt immediately called the police.

Metropolitan Police Officers Mark Gilkey and Monroe Reid arrived within minutes. Officer Gilkey testified that even before he went inside the house, he "could hear a person that was crying and emotional — terribly emotional state of mind." Once inside, he found Smith lying on the living room floor, partially undressed and crying, with "a couple of bruises underneath the eyes." Smith told the officers that a person she had gone to school with, Troy Meaders, had raped her and that Meaders lived on Longfellow Street. She said that he had been wearing a brown cap, a black leather jacket, and blue jeans. After some detectives from the Sex Squad arrived, Officers Gilkey and Reid went to the scene of the crime, where they and other officers found a cap that matched Smith's description, a sneaker, some keys, some pocket change (which Smith said she had lost), and some pieces of paper bearing the name Troy Meaders and the address 1325 Longfellow Street, Northwest. The police also found a pair of woman's underpants lying in the middle of 14th Street. At trial Smith identified the keys, the sneaker, and the underpants as hers.

Officers Gilkey and Reid drove to Meaders' home at 1325 Longfellow Street. After being admitted by Meaders' father, they found appellant asleep in his bed. The officers placed him under arrest and seized a black leather jacket and a pair of blue jeans, which were in plain view in the bedroom. They took appellant to the crime scene, where Smith, who had been brought there by other officers, identified him as her assailant. Smith was then taken to a hospital for an examination, while appellant was taken to police headquarters, where sample pubic and head hairs were taken from him. Detective Michael Vaccaro testified that while this was being done, he noticed scratch marks on appellant's side and forehead.

On direct examination Smith testified that she had no present romantic interest in men, that her sexual preference was for women, and that on May 17, 1983, she was not romantically involved with any men. She stated that she and a woman were living together at an address in Southeast Washington and that they were lovers. She also said that appellant knew that she was gay and that she made no attempt to hide her preference for women from people in her neighborhood. She acknowledged that she had had a romantic interest in men in grade school and junior high school.

Appellant's defense was consent. He testified that when he met Smith on May 17, the two of them talked briefly about old times and then agreed to go to his house to "get high." Appellant said that he also suggested to Smith, "Maybe we can get into something," meaning sex. He admitted that Smith did not specifically reply to this comment, but he believed that she understood his meaning and that, by accompanying him to his house, she indicated her willingness to engage in sex.

When they arrived at appellant's house, he went inside to get some PCP and marijuana while Smith waited on the porch. Shortly after appellant returned, his father, who thought Smith "was a guy," came outside. Appellant and Smith then left, since they could not go into the house because his father was home. She said she wanted him to accompany her downtown, so they walked over to 14th Street and headed south.

During their three-block walk, appellant testified, the two of them smoked three joints containing PCP and marijuana. Smith then remarked that "she was hot for a man" and that "she wanted to be pleased." When he asked what she wanted to do about it, she replied, "Let's go behind [those] bushes." They walked onto the grounds of the mansion and proceeded to the darkest spot. Smith lay down on the ground and dropped her pants and underwear to her ankles. The two of them attempted intercourse, but appellant could not penetrate her fully. After five minutes, he said that he was "sore" from his efforts and that it "won't work." He got up and put on his pants, but Smith protested that "she wanted to get pleased somehow." She became upset and said he "didn't know how to please a woman." When he then refused to accompany her downtown, she stood up, still partially undressed, and started calling him names. He grabbed her and tried to calm her down, but she broke free and ran through the bushes onto the street, shouting for help. She then pulled up her pants and started to flag down passing cars, and when a car finally stopped, she jumped inside. Appellant remained hidden behind the bushes so that he would not appear to be "suspicious of anything." Then, after looking in vain for his cap, which he had lost, he got on his bicycle and rode back up 14th Street. He went first to Smith's house to see if she had gotten home safely. Seeing the lights on, he concluded that she had, so he went home.

On cross-examination, appellant admitted that he knew Smith was gay and that since she had left school this fact was "public knowledge." He also said that on May 17 Smith's dress and haircut made her appear to be a man. On redirect appellant said he had engaged in intercourse with Smith on three or four occasions before that night. When asked if he knew she was "going with other men" even...