State v. Coyle
| Docket Number | WD85186 |
| Decision Date | 27 June 2023 |
| Parties | STATE OF MISSOURI, Respondent, v. ROCKY L. COYLE, Appellant. |
| Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Linn County, Missouri The Honorable Terry Alan Tschannen, Judge
Before Janet Sutton, Presiding Judge, Cynthia L. Martin, Judge, and Edward R. Ardini, Jr., Judge
Rocky L. Coyle ("Coyle") appeals from a judgment convicting him of two counts of child molestation in the second degree and one count of sexual abuse in the first degree. Coyle argues on appeal that the trial court committed plain error in submitting verdict directors that failed to sufficiently specify a particular instance of sexual contact thereby depriving Coyle of his constitutional right to a unanimous verdict. Coyle also challenges the trial court's admission of propensity evidence, arguing that its prejudicial impact substantially outweighed its probative value. Finding no error, we affirm.
The State charged Coyle with two counts of second-degree child molestation in violation of section 566.068[1] ("Count I" and "Count II") and one count of first-degree sexual abuse in violation of section 566.100[2] ("Count III"). Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury's verdicts,[3] the evidence at trial established the following:
T.C ("Victim"), a female, was born in 2001. While she was growing up, Victim lived with Coyle, who is her biological father, and her brother in Brookfield Missouri.[4]At some point, another man, Kenneth Jenkins ("Jenkins"), lived in the home as well and resided in Victim's room. When Jenkins was residing in her room Victim slept in the living room on a recliner or couch. Victim would also fall asleep in the living room after watching a show.
On April 20, 2018, Victim went to her aunt's home in Columbia, Missouri. Victim's aunt asked "if anything was going on in the Brookfield house." Victim initially denied that anything was happening out of fear. Eventually though, Victim began crying and told her aunt that Coyle had been touching her in a sexual manner without offering additional details. After disclosing the sexual abuse, Victim moved to Columbia and only returned to the Brookfield home to collect her belongings.
Victim's testimony at trial detailed the abuse she suffered from Coyle while living in the Brookfield home. During the two months immediately preceding her disclosure of sexual abuse to her aunt, Victim had a difficult time sleeping at night because, when she slept in the living room, she would "oftentimes wake up with [Coyle's] hand touching [her] breasts" underneath her shirt, claiming that he was looking for her glasses. Victim said incidents like this happened at least once a month. Victim described an incident where Coyle asked her, "What would you do if you woke up and I was raping you?", and another incident where Coyle remarked that Victim's vagina "was so tight," suggesting he had touched Victim while she slept. Victim testified that she would occasionally sleep in her brother's room because Coyle would not enter the room with her brother present.
Victim testified about Coyle's behavior during the seventeen months immediately preceding her disclosure of sexual abuse to her aunt. Victim testified that Coyle would help Victim dye her hair once or twice a year during this time frame, by assisting with applying the color and rinsing it out in the kitchen sink. When Victim hung her head in the kitchen sink so that it could be rinsed, "[Coyle] would position himself directly behind [Victim] and rub his genitals onto [her] body." Victim testified that Coyle did this more than once while assisting Victim dye her hair, but that she did not remember if she ever confronted Coyle about his behavior.
Victim described a time that Coyle was tickling her "in [a] playful manner." While running away from Coyle, Victim tripped and fell face-down onto her bed. Coyle then pinned down Victim's hands, laid on top of her, and began rubbing his genitals against Victim's body. Victim told him to "just stop," but Coyle refused. Coyle eventually got off of Victim, and angrily said he was just playing around. Victim did not explain when this incident occurred, but testified it happened "one time."
Victim testified about two other circumstances without explaining when they occurred. Victim testified that there were times that Coyle would ask her to come to his bedroom to talk. Coyle would tell Victim to lie on the bed with him and that she would be grounded if she refused. Victim would lie on the bed and Coyle would talk to her for a while before beginning to rub his genitals against her bottom while making sexual comments to her. Victim also testified about a time where she needed a new bra and asked Coyle if she could get one. To "measure" Victim's bra size, Coyle reached into Victim's bra and cupped her breasts.
Prior to trial, the State filed notice of its intent to present propensity evidence pursuant to article I, section 18(c) of the Missouri Constitution. The notice disclosed the State's intent to present evidence that Coyle committed sexual crimes against two minors in or about December 2005. The described evidence included: (1) statements made by the minors on March 14, 2006, during a forensic interview at the Children's Advocacy Center, and (2) testimony from the minors--now adults--that Coyle sexually abused them in or about December 2005.
The trial court held a hearing regarding the intent to present propensity evidence, and heard testimony from D.P. and E.G., the minors who claimed they had been sexually abused by Coyle in or about December 2005. Following the hearing, the trial court ordered that the State could elicit testimony from D.P. and E.G. about the alleged abuse, but could not offer into evidence statements made by the minors at the Children's Advocacy Center.
At trial, the trial court told Coyle's counsel prior to voir dire that, if he wished to have a continuing objection to the admission of D.P. and E.G.'s testimony, the trial court would grant one. Coyle's counsel indicated that he would accept the trial court's offer, but might also elect to object when the propensity evidence was offered "just to make sure it gets on the record." However, Coyle's counsel did not later lodge an objection to D.P.'s or E.G.'s testimony when it was offered.
D.P. testified that in December 2005 when she was around fourteen years old, she spent Christmas break with E.G. at the home of E.G.'s grandmother near Trenton, Missouri. D.P. testified that she met Coyle, who is E.G.'s uncle, during this time. D.P. testified that Coyle made remarks that made her feel uncomfortable, such as telling her that she had a "cute butt." D.P. described two incidents involving Coyle. D.P. testified about a time that Coyle "pin[ned] [her] down" and rubbed his genitals against her body. And she testified about a night when Coyle attempted to convince D.P. and E.G. to drink alcohol and made remarks about having a date rape drug before suggesting that the three of them play a game that involved writing on the body of the person who fell asleep first. D.P. testified that she and E.G. agreed to pretend to fall asleep first. As D.P. pretended to sleep, Coyle reached up D.P.'s shirt to massage her breasts and then placed his hands down her pants to massage her genitals. Because she was scared, D.P. pretended she was asleep and kicked E.G. to alert her to what was happening. E.G. told Coyle that D.P. was awake. Coyle laughed. D.P. then fell asleep and, when she woke up, she was lying next to a blow-up sex doll. There was also writing on D.P.'s stomach, particularly an arrow pointing toward her face near the words "the hills," and an arrow pointing toward her feet near the words "the valley." D.P. told her mother about Coyle's conduct. D.P. was interviewed at the Children's Advocacy Center in Trenton, but no charges were ever filed against Coyle.
E.G. testified that she was also around fourteen years old in December 2005 when D.P. stayed at her grandmother's home. E.G. testified that Coyle drew arrows and wrote "the hills" and "the valley" on D.P.'s stomach. E.G. also described instances where Coyle would be "very handsy" by grabbing her bottom and breasts. In addition, E.G. testified about an incident at her aunt's home. E.G. was using the computer after everyone else had gone to bed when Coyle walked into the room. Coyle knelt next to the computer desk, told E.G. that he had exposed his penis, and asked E.G. to look at his penis. E.G. refused to look at Coyle's penis and ignored him until he walked out of the room. E.G. was also interviewed at the Children's Advocacy Center in Trenton, but no charges were ever filed against Coyle.
Coyle testified and denied having any sexual contact with Victim. His strategy at trial was to challenge the credibility of Victim's testimony in nearly every detail.
During a brief jury instruction conference on the record, the State indicated that it had no objections to the proposed jury instructions. Coyle's counsel indicated that he had reviewed and had no objections to the proposed instructions.
Instruction No. 5 concerned the first count of second-degree child molestation and provided:
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