Peterson v. State, 5D01-1129.

Decision Date22 March 2002
Docket NumberNo. 5D01-1129.,5D01-1129.
PartiesHenry PETERSON, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
CourtFlorida District Court of Appeals

Michael H. Lambert, Daytona Beach, for Appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Angela D. McCravy, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellee.

SHARP, W., J.

Peterson appeals from his judgment and sentence after a jury convicted him of capital sexual battery. He raises three grounds, which we find have no merit in this case, and a fourth that was not timely and must be dealt with in a post-judgment proceeding. Accordingly, we affirm.

First, Peterson argues that the trial judge should have granted his motion to suppress his confession, which was admitted in evidence at the trial. At best, he established that he is functionally illiterate, is of low normal intelligence, and that he was poorly equipped to defend himself in the battle of wits in which he and the police officer interviewing him engaged when he made his confession. But that is not enough to support suppression of his confession on the grounds it was involuntary or coerced. The interview lasted only twenty-five minutes, there was no show of force, Peterson willingly agreed to talk, he was read his Miranda rights as well as the waiver which he signed, and the atmosphere during the interview was in no way intimidating. See Sliney v. State, 699 So.2d 662 (Fla.1997),

cert. denied, 522 U.S. 1129, 118 S.Ct. 1079, 140 L.Ed.2d 137 (1998); Johnson v. State, 696 So.2d 326 (Fla.1997),

cert. denied, 522 U.S. 1095, 118 S.Ct. 892, 139 L.Ed.2d 878 (1998).

Second, Peterson urges that his confession was not admissible under section 92.565, a relatively new statute effective June 5, 2000, which modifies the "corpus delicti" rule,1 regarding the admission of confessions in sexual abuse cases where the state has not presented independent evidence for all of the elements of the crime. At the time this crime was perpetrated on February 9, 2000, the victim was eleven years old. The statute provides:

(1) As used in this section, the term "sexual abuse" means an act of a sexual nature or sexual act that may be prosecuted under any law of this state, including those offenses specifically designated in subsection (2).
(2) In any criminal action in which the defendant is charged with a crime against a victim under s. 794.011; s. 794.05; s. 800.04; s. 826.04; s. 827.03, involving sexual abuse; s. 827.04, involving sexual abuse; or s. 827.071, or any other crime involving sexual abuse of another, or with any attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit any of these crimes, the defendant's memorialized confession or admission is admissible during trial without the state having to prove a corpus delicti of the crime if the court finds in a hearing conducted outside the presence of the jury that the state is unable to show the existence of each element of the crime, and having so found, further finds that the defendant's confession or admission is trustworthy. Factors which may be relevant in determining whether the state is unable to show the existence of each element of the crime include, but are not limited to, the fact that, at the time the crime was committed, the victim was:
(a) Physically helpless, mentally incapacitated, or mentally defective, as those terms are defined in s. 794.011;
(b) Physically incapacitated due to age, infirmity, or any other cause; or
(c) Less than 12 years of age.
(3) Before the court admits the defendant's confession or admission, the state must prove by a preponderance of evidence that there is sufficient corroborating evidence that tends to establish the trustworthiness of the statement by the defendant. Hearsay evidence is admissible during the presentation of evidence at the hearing. In making its determination, the court may consider all relevant corroborating evidence, including the defendant's statements.
(4) The court shall make specific findings of fact, on the record, for the basis of its ruling.

Peterson argues that the state failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that there was sufficient corroborating evidence which tended to establish the trustworthiness of the defendant's admission or confession. We agree with the trial judge in this case that there was sufficient corroborating evidence. Peterson's confession was remarkably consistent with the victim's allegations and statements to her mother and the Child Protection Team which she made very shortly after the alleged crime took place, and the results of her physical examination were consistent with her allegations of sexual contact.

On appeal, Peterson also argues that this statute should not be retroactively applied to this case since it came into effect after the crime took place. However, we do not reach that issue because it was not raised at the trial. See Mobley v. State, 447 So.2d 328 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984)

; Brown v. State, 428 So.2d 369 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983).

Third, Peterson claims it was error to allow the introduction of the victim's tape-recorded interview with the Child Protection Team, since the victim was present in the court room at the trial. Section 90.803(23), Florida Statutes, allows use of such hearsay statements in child sexual abuse cases under limited circumstances. It provides:

The provision of s. 90.802 to the contrary notwithstanding, the following are not inadmissible as evidence, even though the declarant is available as a witness:
(23) Hearsay exception; statement of child victim.—
(a) Unless the source of information or the method or circumstances by which the statement is reported indicates a lack of trustworthiness, an out-of-court statement made by a child victim with a physical, mental, emotional, or developmental age of 11 or less describing any act of child abuse or neglect, any act of sexual abuse against a child, the offense of child abuse, the offense of aggravated child abuse, or any offense involving an unlawful sexual act, contact, intrusion, or penetration performed in the presence of, with, by, or on the declarant child, not otherwise admissible, is admissible in evidence in any civil or criminal proceeding if:
1. The court finds in a hearing conducted outside the presence of the jury that the time, content, and circumstances of the statement provide sufficient safeguards of reliability. In making its determination, the court may consider the mental and physical age and maturity of the child, the nature and duration of the abuse or offense, the relationship of the child to the offender, the reliability of the assertion, the reliability of the child victim, and any other factor deemed appropriate; and
2. The child either:
a. Testifies; or
b. Is unavailable as a witness, provided that there is other corroborative evidence of the abuse or offense. Unavailability shall include a finding by the court that the child's participation in the trial or proceeding would result in a substantial likelihood of severe emotional or mental harm, in addition to findings pursuant to s. 90.804(1).
* * *
(c) The court shall make specific findings of fact, on the record, as to the basis for its ruling under this subsection.

In this case, the victim's statements were not admitted under the statutory provision that the child's participation in the trial or proceeding would result in a "substantial likelihood of severe emotional or mental harm ..." because the trial judge made no such finding. However, the statute also states the hearsay statements may be admissible if the child is "unavailable as a witness." And,...

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