Smith v. State
| Decision Date | 21 September 2021 |
| Docket Number | NO. 2020-KA-00507-COA, 2017-CT-01725-COA,2020-KA-00507-COA, 2017-CT-01725-COA |
| Citation | 326 So.3d 510 |
| Parties | Carlos Boyd SMITH a/k/a Carlos Smith, Appellant v. STATE of Mississippi, Appellee |
| Court | Mississippi Court of Appeals |
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT: OFFICE OF STATE PUBLIC DEFENDER, BY: HUNTER NOLAN AIKENS, CARLOS BOYD SMITH (PRO SE)
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, BY: BRITTNEY SHARAE EAKINS
BEFORE WILSON, P.J., McDONALD AND EMFINGER, JJ.
McDONALD, J., FOR THE COURT:
¶1. In 2016, a Stone County Circuit Court jury found Carlos Boyd Smith guilty of sexual battery. The circuit court sentenced Smith to serve a term of twenty-two years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). Smith filed a motion for a new trial or, alternatively judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV), which the circuit court denied. Smith appealed, raising the following issues: (1) whether the circuit court erred by allowing testimony from a different minor victim; and (2) whether the circuit court erred by allowing one of the State's witnesses to give an expert opinion. Finding no error, we affirm.
Statement of the Facts and Procedural History
¶2. In 2001, Smith and his wife Sonia adopted K.S.1 when she was three years old. K.S. lived with the Smiths and their three sons, J.S., N.S, and L.S, next to the church that Smith pastored. Shortly after her adoption, K.S. began receiving mental health treatment at numerous facilities, which continued for several years.2
¶3. In 2004, a Stone County grand jury indicted Smith for one count of battery of M.J., a minor friend of K.S. He ultimately pled no contest to a misdemeanor for indecent exposure.
¶4. When K.S. turned fourteen in 2011, she disclosed to her therapist Rodney Frothingham at the Mississippi State Hospital that Smith had sexually abused her. K.S. also told Emily Pfaff, her therapist at Youth Villages in Memphis, Tennessee, about Smith's alleged sexual abuse. K.S. stopped living with the Smiths around October 2011.
¶5. A Stone County grand jury indicted Smith on June 13, 2012, charging him with one count of sexual battery pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-3-95(1)(d) (Rev. 2006). The indictment alleged that Smith put his penis in K.S.’s mouth on several occasions between May 2005 and August 2011.
¶6. In September 2014, the State filed a motion to admit evidence of Smith's prior sexual offense involving M.J. pursuant to Rule 404(b) of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence.3 The State argued that it would present evidence that Smith previously abused M.J. in a manner similar to his abuse of K.S. Prior to Smith's trial, the circuit court held a hearing on the matter on January 15, 2016. The State presented evidence, which demonstrated that Smith's past sexual activities with M.J. were similar to those in his charges regarding K.S. The circuit court ruled that M.J.’s testimony was admissible under Rule 404(b).
¶7. The trial took place on January 20-21, 2016. The State presented several witnesses, including K.S., M.J., K.S.’s former therapist Rodney Frothingham from the Mississippi State Hospital at the Oak Circle Center (child and adolescent unit), and K.S.’s former therapist Emily Pfaff from Youth Villages. At the time of trial, eighteen-year-old K.S. testified that Smith had sexually abused her for years while she lived with his family. Specifically, K.S. stated that Smith would play a "blindfold game" with her, where he would blindfold K.S., place different items in her mouth, and make her guess what the items were. During the games, K.S. testified that Smith placed his penis in her mouth. K.S. also stated that Smith played the "blindfold game" with her childhood friend M.J. once in 2004. According to K.S., M.J. went into Smith's bedroom to play games. When M.J. returned to K.S.’s room, M.J. went into the closet and cried. K.S., who was six at the time, did not know what exactly had occurred but claimed that M.J. said something about Smith molesting her. Once M.J. left the house, M.J. never talked to K.S. nor visited the Smiths’ residence again.
¶8. After this occurrence, K.S. testified that she did not remember playing the "blindfold game" again with Smith until she was around eleven years old. She stated that she and Smith would play the game on Saturdays in his church office. During one encounter, K.S. testified that she looked under the blindfold and saw Smith's pants at his ankles as he put his penis inside her mouth. K.S. testified that the same thing occurred multiple times until she was thirteen years old in 2010. K.S. further testified that Smith abused her in other ways, such as touching her inappropriately or attempting to make her touch him inappropriately. But she did not tell other people about Smith's abuse because she loved him and was scared of what might happen to him.
¶9. K.S.’s former childhood friend M.J. testified that when she was about six years old, she and K.S. took turns going into Smith's room to play the "blindfold game." After her third or fourth turn, M.J. peeked underneath her blindfold and saw that Smith attempted to put his penis in her mouth. M.J. testified that she told him that she did not feel good and did not want to play anymore. M.J. went home the next day and never visited the Smiths’ residence again.
¶10. After voir dire examination of Frothingham and Pfaff, the court allowed them to testify as expert witnesses for the State. Frothingham testified as an expert in the field of child psychological therapy. He testified that he began counseling K.S. in September 2011. Frothingham noted that K.S. appeared to be very anxious when discussing sexual abuse and suffered from a behavioral disorder
. On September 30, 2011, he reviewed K.S.’s psychological evaluation from the referring facility. On the evaluation, he noticed a statement from K.S. that she felt safer at hospitals. When Frothingham asked K.S. about the statement, she began telling him about Smith's abuse, including his abuse toward M.J. K.S. told him that Smith would play the "blindfold game" with her at church and that Smith had put his penis in her mouth. Frothingham also testified that K.S. told him about other instances of Smith's abuse. In Frothingham's expert opinion, K.S.’s characteristics were consistent with a child who had been sexually abused.
¶11. The State's other expert witness, Pfaff, testified as an expert in mental health counseling. After the State proffered her, the circuit court accepted her over the defense's objection pursuant to Rule 702 of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence and ruled that Pfaff would be allowed to offer her expert opinion that the things K.S. told her were consistent with sexual abuse. Pfaff was K.S.’s mental health therapist at Youth Villages, which is a residential treatment center in Memphis, Tennessee. During counseling, Pfaff made several observations about K.S., including her suicidal thoughts when discussing sexual abuse, "triggers" that reminded her of sexual abuse, and generally clear signs of post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD). Pfaff asked K.S. questions such as, "[H]as anyone ever made you do sexual things you didn't want to do, like touch them, they touched you, or have any kind of sex with you?" K.S. responded yes and told her about Smith's abuse.
¶12. Pfaff testified K.S. told her that she did not remember when Smith's abuse began. But she "remembered it getting weird" when Smith picked her up and slid her in front of his body while they were in the kitchen. K.S. also told Pfaff about the "blindfold game," Smith's placing his penis in her mouth, and Smith's coming into the room at night and making her guess if she was holding his penis or a toy. Pfaff testified K.S. was diagnosed with bipolar disorder4
and oppositional defiant disorder.5 Additionally, in her expert opinion, Pfaff testified that K.S.’s characteristics were consistent with children who had been sexually abused.
¶13. The defense called Smith's sons as witnesses. The sons testified that they never saw any inappropriate behavior between Smith and K.S. and that K.S. and their father were never alone together. The defense also called Ina Maria Riley, the custodian at Smith's church, as a witness. Riley stated that she cleaned for about four hours per day and never saw K.S. with Smith when she was cleaning. Further, she testified that she saw Smith's son playing sports while K.S. would be in her own area, so there were times that the boys were not watching K.S.
¶14. Smith testified in his own defense and denied putting his penis in K.S.’s mouth or touching her inappropriately. Smith also denied any other inappropriate behavior that K.S. alleged. Additionally, Smith denied attempting to put his penis in M.J.’s mouth but admitted and pled guilty to a misdemeanor of indecent exposure. Both sides rested their cases.
¶15. On January 22, 2016, the jury found Smith guilty of sexual battery. The circuit court sentenced Smith to serve a term of twenty-two years in the custody of the MDOC. Smith filed a motion for a new trial or JNOV on February 1, 2016, on the following grounds: (1) that the verdict was against the weight of the evidence; (2) that the evidence was insufficient; (3) that all pretrial motions filed by the defense should have been granted; (4) that the circuit court erred in overruling the defense's objections; (5) that the circuit court erred in admitting testimonial or demonstrative evidence over the defense's objection; (6) that the circuit court erred in refusing all jury instructions sought by the defense; (7) that the circuit court erred in giving jury instructions over the defense's objection; and (8) that the circuit court erred in its evidentiary rulings. The circuit court denied Smith's motions on the same day that they were filed.
¶16. Smith appealed on May 1, 2020,6 raising the following issues: (1) whether the circuit court erred in allowing the testimonial evidence of a different minor victim; and (2) whether the circuit court erred in allowing one of ...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Wofford v. State
... ... Dupuy testified that after the 2015 burglary, he eventually recovered two of the stolen pistols from Wofford, who would later admit at trial that Weaver had sold him "some guns," including a .22-caliber Smith and Wesson pistol, a 9mm Beretta, and two .22-caliber automatics. Wofford had given the guns to his stepbrother, who was a police officer with the Prentiss Police Department in Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi, to ensure the weapons were "clean." Dupuy later retrieved the guns from Wofford's ... ...
-
Jordan v. State
...her physical examination of Jane. "The admission of evidence is reviewed under the abuse-of-discretion standard." Smith v. State, 326 So.3d 510, 517 (¶17) (Miss. Ct. App. 2021) (citing Boggs v. State, 188 So.3d 515, 519 (¶9) (Miss. 2016)). ¶12. At trial, Harrell indicated that she did not f......
- Smith v. State