People v. Sprouse
| Decision Date | 11 December 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. 96CA1819,96CA1819 |
| Citation | 962 P.2d 300 |
| Parties | 97 CJ C.A.R. 3182 The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. William Charles SPROUSE, Defendant-Appellant. . I |
| Court | Colorado Court of Appeals |
Gale A. Norton, Attorney General, Martha Phillips Allbright, Chief Deputy Attorney General, Richard A. Westfall, Solicitor General, Peter J. Cannici, Assistant Attorney General, Denver, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
David F. Vela, Colorado State Public Defender, Joan E. Mounteer, Deputy State Public Defender, Denver, for Defendant-Appellant.
Opinion by Justice ERICKSON. *
Defendant, William Charles Sprouse, appeals the judgment of conviction entered upon a jury verdict finding him guilty of criminal attempt to commit sexual assault on a child pursuant to §§ 18-3-405(1) and 18-2-101(1), C.R.S.1997. We reverse the judgment and remand to the trial court with directions to vacate defendant's conviction and sentence.
Defendant, a Montana resident, was arrested in Colorado by Arvada police as the final step in their execution of a "sting" operation to identify pedophiles and victims of child abuse.
The undisputed facts in the record indicate that defendant placed an ad in a sexually explicit Texas publication. He sought a "submissive female," "pretty w/slim build, 18-40 who craves father figure, spanking, kinky sex." He described himself as a "dominant," good looking male, age 47.
In November 1994, detectives in Arvada, Colorado, responded to defendant's ad by sending him an application to join a fictitious pen-pal organization which purportedly matched individuals having similar sexual interests. Both the pen-pal organization and the application form were products of the local police plan to ferret out pedophiles, both in and outside of Colorado. The application form included categories such as "Greek Culture," "Young Love," "Teenagers," and "Family Sex," which the detectives viewed to be terms used by pedophiles.
In December 1994, detectives received defendant's completed pen-pal application form, on which he had checked "Young Love," "Greek Culture" and "Teenagers." Detectives then prepared and mailed to defendant a completed pen-pal application from "Ann," a fictitious woman in her thirties. That application indicated that "Ann" had an interest in the same areas as those marked by defendant, but it included "Family Sex" as well as handwritten notations that "Ann" was also interested in "Sexual Education" and "Sexual Awakenings."
Defendant responded with the first of 17 letters which he and "Ann" exchanged over a five-month period. He introduced himself and asked her to explain the information contained in her application form. He stated that he wanted to experiment with "B.D." He indicated an interest in "oral, Greek, and spanking," and that his interests also included "marriage and [a] lot of sex."
Meanwhile, defendant wrote to the pen-pal organization to request applications from other members. He stated that he was not sure that "Ann's" interests were the same as his. He indicated that his interests were "spanking, B.D., Anal, Oral," and that he wanted "a female that likes all of this."
"Ann" then wrote to defendant and explained that she was looking for someone to give her fictitious eleven-year-old daughter some "T.L.C.," which is why she marked "Young Love" on her application form. "Ann" further explained that she had written sexual awakening and education on her application form with her daughter in mind. She claimed that she was "very nervous about saying much more as not everyone in society believes as I do," and that she was hesitant to say more without knowing "whether or not we are thinking along the same lines." "Ann" asked defendant to let her know "if this sounds like something you can help [us] with."
Defendant responded by sending a Christmas card and a letter in which he asked general questions about "Ann" and whether she would be interested in participating. He stated:
I'm the kind of man who forms an opinion based on what I saw in your application and your letter. If I am wrong about your meaning Just explain what you do want and I'll see if it works for me.
You already know where my interest[s] lie because I told you my interest[s] in my letter. As I read you[r] letter I concluded that you are interested in finding a man who will love and care for both yourself and Lisa.
Defendant stated that he "could very well be the man you are looking for."
"Ann" wrote back, stating that she wanted her daughter to be sexually trained. "Ann" indicated a desire to be present during the "lessons," which she viewed to be her daughter's "special time."
During the "pen-pal" relationship, "Ann" described the relationship among the three of them as that of "special friends" and asked defendant if her daughter could call him "Uncle Charlie." At "Ann's" suggestion, defendant sent a Valentine card to the daughter.
"Ann" asked defendant whether he had "trained" anyone else. He replied that he had previously "trained" another girl and described the circumstances of that encounter to "Ann." "Ann" suggested that he travel to Colorado to "train" her daughter.
Defendant and "Ann" continued writing to each other. They exchanged information about their personal lives. Defendant questioned "Ann" about the use of books and videos as sexual training aids. "Ann" inquired about training methods and indicated her approval of defendant's ideas.
Defendant eventually agreed to travel to Colorado and "train" "Ann's" daughter during his vacation. He was invited to stay with "Ann" and the daughter, and letters were sent ostensibly from both "Ann" and "Lisa" expressing their excitement about meeting him.
Defendant came to Colorado in May 1995, approximately seven months after detectives first responded to his ad. Police rented several rooms at a local motel, where defendant was to meet "Ann" and her daughter. A detective wearing a wire posed as Ann, invited defendant to her room, and then escorted him across the hall to a room where her "daughter" was purportedly waiting for the "training" to begin. Defendant was arrested upon entering that motel room. Sexual paraphernalia was found in his car.
Defendant, who subsequently testified in his own defense, stated that he had no intention of having sex with an eleven-year-old. He told police that he could not believe a mother would allow a man to engage in sex with her child, that he had come to Colorado to determine the actual facts, and that he planned to report "Ann" to police if what she said was true. He stated that his own children had been molested and that he was concerned about adults molesting children.
Prior to trial, defendant raised the affirmative defense of entrapment and filed a motion for judgment of acquittal. After the prosecution's case-in-chief, and again after defendant presented his case, he moved for an acquittal based upon the prosecution's failure to meet its burden of proof.
The trial court denied the motion to dismiss on the basis of entrapment. However, it found that "the elements of entrapment are appropriate to allow the defendant [that] theory of defense in this case."
The jury was instructed on the burden of proof and the elements of both the crime charged and the affirmative defense of entrapment. The conviction here at issue resulted.
Defendant contends that the trial court erred by denying his motion for judgment of acquittal. He claims that the prosecution failed to carry its burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that he was predisposed, independent of the police action, to commit the alleged offense. We agree.
The court, on motion of a defendant or of its own motion, shall order the entry of a judgment of acquittal "if the evidence is insufficient to sustain a conviction" of the offense charged. Crim. P. 29(a).
In ruling on a motion for judgment of acquittal, a trial court must determine whether the evidence before the jury is sufficient in both quantity and quality to submit the issue of defendant's guilt or innocence to the jury. The issue is whether the relevant evidence, both direct and circumstantial, when viewed as a whole and in the light most favorable to the prosecution, is substantial and sufficient to support a conclusion by a reasonable mind that the defendant is guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt, of the crime charged. People v. Bennett, 183 Colo. 125, 515 P.2d 466 (1973).
Defendant was convicted of attempted sexual assault on a child pursuant to § 18-3-405(1), C.R.S.1997, which provides:
Any actor who knowingly subjects another not his or her spouse to any sexual contact commits sexual assault on a child if the victim is less than fifteen years of age and the actor is at least four years older than the victim.
A person commits criminal attempt if, acting with the culpability otherwise required for commission of an offense, he or she engages in conduct constituting a substantial step toward the commission of the offense. A substantial step is any conduct which is strongly corroborative of the firmness of the actor's purpose to complete the commission of the offense. Section 18-2-101(1), C.R.S.1997.
A basic premise of Anglo-American criminal law is that no crime can be committed by bad thoughts alone. W. LaFave & A. Scott, Substantive Criminal Law § 2.3(b) (1986). A person is not guilty of an offense unless his liability is based on conduct which includes a voluntary act or the omission to perform an act of which he is physically capable. Model Penal Code § 2.01(1) (1985).
Sherman v. United States, 356 U.S. 369, 372, 78 S.Ct. 819, 820, 2 L.Ed.2d 848, 850 (1958). Here, the context for the commission of the crime was manufactured by the Arvada police. The minor child,...
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People v. Sprouse
...Attorneys for Respondent. Justice RICE delivered the Opinion of the Court. We granted certiorari in order to review People v. Sprouse, 962 P.2d 300 (Colo.App. 1997), in which the court of appeals reversed the trial court's denial of the defendant's motion for judgment of acquittal. The defe......