State v. Jacques, 86-442-C
| Decision Date | 10 February 1988 |
| Docket Number | No. 86-442-C,86-442-C |
| Parties | STATE v. Norman JACQUES. A. |
| Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
This is an appeal by the defendant, Norman Jacques, from a conviction by a Superior Court jury of a charge that he engaged in sexual penetration of a female through the use of force or coercion, a violation of G.L.1956 (1981 Reenactment) § 11-37-2. Hereafter we shall refer to the defendant by his last name, Jacques, and to the complaining female by a pseudonym, Kathy.
The gist of Jacques's appeal is that the trial justice erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal. Jacques's appellate counsel argues vigorously that there is no evidence to suggest that the intercourse complained of was a result of "force or coercion" used by Jacques as that phrase is defined in § 11-37-1.
When considering a motion for judgment of acquittal, a trial justice is to view only that evidence which the prosecution claims is capable of supporting proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Such evidence is to be considered in the light most favorable to the prosecution, and both the trial justice and this court on appeal must draw from such evidence all reasonable inferences that are consistent with the guilt of the accused. At this point neither the weight of the evidence nor the credibility of witnesses need be considered. State v. Wilshire, 509 A.2d 444, 452 (R.I.1986). With these principles in mind, we now turn to the evidence.
On Labor Day, September 6, 1982, Kathy was a new arrival to the city of Providence, having moved to Rhode Island the day before the episode giving rise to the charges now before us. In the spring of 1982, she graduated from a Massachusetts junior college and had been accepted for admission to the junior class at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Classes at RISD were scheduled to begin the following Tuesday, September 7. On Labor Day afternoon, Kathy set out on a walk through Providence's metropolitan area looking for The Living Room--a local nightclub and popular gathering place for RISD students. Her goal was to find the club while it was still daylight so that she could return later that evening. Although the record indicates that The Living Room is situated on Promenade Street in Providence, somehow Kathy lost her way and ended up in Providence's Federal Hill section, which is some distance south of Promenade Street.
As Kathy was walking along some unidentified street, Jacques drove up alongside her in his Toyota Land Cruiser and brought the vehicle to a stop. He gave Kathy a business card that identified him as the editor and publisher of the Rhode Island Times, a newspaper. Jacques told Kathy that she was beautiful and would be a perfect subject for a photographic project that he was planning for his newspaper.
As conversation continued, Kathy mentioned her predicament and Jacques offered her a ride to The Living Room. Kathy hesitated but finally took the front seat of the Toyota, alongside Jacques, who then drove onto a nearby highway. Over Kathy's protests, Jacques did not bring her to The Living Room; instead he brought her to his "treehouse" studio. He told her he needed to take some test photos of her for the proposed project.
After traveling approximately fifteen minutes, the couple arrived at Jacques's home and studio, which are situated north of Providence in the town of Lincoln. They entered the one-room studio, which is located behind Jacques's residence. According to Kathy, the studio was in a remote area up on an incline surrounded by trees, and the view from the windows gave her the feeling she was in a treehouse.
As they engaged in conversation, Jacques showed Kathy around the studio. (The record indicates that the studio was approximately twelve x fourteen feet.) At one point Jacques sat down in a chair in front of a desk, which was attached to the wall, and asked Kathy to step away from him so that he could see if she was suitable for modeling. After again complimenting Kathy on her beauty, Jacques asked to see any scars or blemishes she might have. Kathy lowered the top of her pedal-pushers a bit to show him a scar she had on her abdomen. Jacques then told Kathy to drop her pedal-pushers to the ground so that he could see the outline of her body. Kathy initially replied in the negative but then complied after Jacques, in a disturbed voice, said that such a response indicated that she was incapable of handling matters on a "professional level." After Kathy lowered her pedal-pushers to her ankles, Jacques removed her underpants, saying that it was silly of her to keep them on. Then Jacques asked Kathy to remove her upper garment, and she complied.
At Jacques's direction, Kathy walked to a wing-back chair, which was against the wall opposite the desk. As she proceeded toward the chair, Jacques told Kathy that he was getting excited by her body. Kathy testified that at this point she became very frightened. As she arrived at the chair, Kathy felt the pressure of Jacques's chest pushing against her back. This pressure caused her to fall into a kneeling position onto the chair facing the wall. Then she felt Jacques's penis make contact with her vaginal area, and she immediately stiffened her body and screamed, "What are you doing?". Jacques kept trying to insert his penis as Kathy continued to scream and cry. Jacques then abandoned the penile approach, but before Kathy could move, Jacques inserted one, then two of his fingers into her vagina. Kathy immediately squirmed away from this contact as Jacques yelled at her, telling her that she was immature and that she should grow up. After resisting several other advances, including a request by Jacques that she perform oral sex on him, Kathy moved to the other side of the room and made herself presentable for public viewing. Kathy then asked to be taken home, a request with which Jacques eventually complied.
The jury returned a guilty verdict, and Jacques's motion for a new trial was subsequently denied.
Jacques was found guilty of violating § 11-37-2(C), which provides:
"Force or coercion" is defined in § 11-37-1 to mean any of the following:
"(A) uses or threatens to use a weapon, or any article used or fashioned in a manner to lead the victim to reasonably believe it to be a weapon.
(B) overcomes the victim through the application of physical force or physical violence.
(C) coerces the victim to submit by threatening to use force or violence on the victim and the victim reasonably believes that the accused has the present ability to execute these threats.
(D) coerces the victim to submit by threatening to at some time in the future murder, inflict serious bodily injury upon or kidnap the victim or any other person and the victim reasonably believes that the accused has the ability to execute this threat."
The first issue presented to us is whether proof of force apart from the act of penetration is required under the sexual-assault statute. The state argues that requiring force in addition to nonconsensual intercourse would lead to ludicrous results. It contends that the force sufficient to accomplish an act of intercourse may constitute sufficient force to support a conviction for sexual assault.
This contention is not well taken. In State v. Babbitt, 457 A.2d 1049 (R.I.1983), this court held that every element needed to prove rape under the common law must also be proved under the sexual-assault statute. Without question, proof of overcoming the victim's resistance by force, fear, or other prohibited conditions was required under common law. See State v. Golden, 430 A.2d 433, 435 (R.I.1981).
Referring to the sexual-assault statute, the Babbitt court wrote:
In addition, § 11-37-2 lists other situations...
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