State v. Lawrence
| Decision Date | 02 November 2022 |
| Docket Number | 21-KA-733 |
| Parties | STATE OF LOUISIANA v. TOBE LAWRENCE JR. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
ON APPEAL FROM THE TWENTY-FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF JEFFERSON, STATE OF LOUISIANA NO. 18-6790, DIVISION "G" HONORABLE E. ADRIAN ADAMS, JUDGE PRESIDING
COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLEE, STATE OF LOUISIANA
Honorable Paul D. Connick, Jr.
Thomas J. Butler
Monique D. Nolan
Lindsay L. Truhe
Zachary L. Grate COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLANT, TOBE LAWRENCE, JR.
Bertha M. Hillman
Panel composed of Judges Susan M. Chehardy, Hans J. Liljeberg, and John J. Molaison, Jr.
Defendant appeals his conviction and sentence for aggravated rape of a victim under twelve years old. For the following reasons, we affirm. We also remand for correction of errors patent.
On February 14, 2019, a Jefferson Parish Grand Jury returned an indictment charging defendant, Tobe Lawrence Jr., with "First Degree Rape (known prior to August 1, 2015 as Aggravated Rape)," on or between August 1, 2001, and December 31, 2005, wherein the victim was under the age of thirteen, in violation of La. R.S. 14:42. Defendant pleaded not guilty. On June 1, 2021, the indictment was amended to change the date range of the offense to "on or between August 15, 2001 and May 17, 2008," and to allege that the victim was under the age of twelve.
Trial began on June 1, 2021. At the conclusion of trial on June 3 2021, the jury unanimously found defendant guilty of aggravated rape of a victim under twelve. On June 30, 2021, the trial court sentenced defendant to life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. Defendant appeals.
In July of 2018, K.A., who was 22 years old at the time, reported to the Kenner Police Department that she had been sexually abused as a juvenile by defendant, Tobe Lawrence, who was the ex-boyfriend of her grandmother, Monica Collar.[1] At trial Detective Peter Foltz testified that he was assigned to conduct a follow-up investigation and met with K.A. who gave an audio-recorded statement. In her statement, K.A. described four incidents of sexual abuse by defendant.
According to Detective Foltz, K.A. stated that the first incident occurred when she was four or five years old and had come home from school. K.A. lived with her grandmother, defendant, and others at the time. She recalled that defendant joined her on the sofa to watch television, and she was looking for a remote when she "found" defendant's penis in her hand. Defendant told her it was something she had to learn how to use later. K.A. told the detective that defendant began fondling her vagina and had her perform oral sex on him.
Detective Foltz testified that K.A. told him about a second incident when defendant called her into a room at her grandmother's house when she was six or seven years old. Defendant placed K.A. on his lap facing towards him and gave her instructions. Defendant then grabbed her around the waist and "began running her vaginal area against his penile area." K.A. told the detective that defendant inserted his finger into her vagina, which caused her to scream. She stated that her cousin, T.C., came in the room, but defendant told him to leave. K.A. informed Detective Foltz that she was then forced to perform oral sex on defendant.
Detective Foltz testified about a third incident described by K.A. that occurred when she was approximately seven years old. K.A. told him that she and T.C. were sleeping on a pallet when defendant woke her up.[2] She stated that defendant began performing oral sex on her. The detective testified that K.A. said defendant placed her on top of his penile area and neither of them had on underwear, so her vaginal area rubbed against his groin. K.A. stated that she believes defendant stopped when he heard her aunt arrive home. Detective Foltz testified that K.A. said she followed T.C. into a bathroom that same day and "tried to hump" him and attempted to perform oral sex on him. T.C.'s mother, T., walked in and made them stop. Detective Foltz testified that he also questioned T.C. about this incident, and T.C. advised that they touched each other's private parts that day. However, T.C. was not able to provide any further information.
The detective stated that K.A. recalled a fourth incident when she was in second or third grade and approximately nine years old. K.A. told Detective Foltz that she and defendant were lying on a bed together, and he began fondling her vagina and digitally penetrated her. K.A. recalled that defendant then inserted his penis into her vagina. She cried from the pain, so defendant stopped. She continued to cry, so defendant told her to tell her grandmother that she "caught a whooping." The detective recalled that K.A. said her grandmother gave her Pepto-Bismol later that night after she complained that her stomach hurt. Detective Foltz provided that K.A. indicated there were ten or more incidents when she was sexually assaulted by defendant.
Detective Foltz testified that he later spoke with K.A.'s aunt, L.C., because Ms. Collor advised him that L.C. said defendant also sexually abused her. According to Detective Foltz, L.C. stated that she was around ten years old when defendant started to sexually abuse her. L.C. told the detective about three specific incidents. The first incident occurred when L.C. was working out at home, and defendant approached her and began massaging her. During the massage, he touched her chest area under her shirt. L.C. described a second incident to Detective Foltz when she and defendant were lying in a bed together. Defendant "began touching her on the chest area and then at which time he got on top of her in a mounting position and began to dry-hump her." L.C. pushed defendant to the side, and then he began touching her chest and vaginal area under her clothes. L.C. recalled a third incident when she was a juvenile and was in a vehicle with defendant. L.C. told the detective that defendant placed her on his lap, "acting like she was driving," and began touching her vaginal area.
Based on the information he received, Detective Foltz obtained two arrests warrants-one based on K.A.'s allegations and the other on L.C.'s allegations.
K.A.'s trial testimony was consistent with the information she provided to Detective Foltz. K.A. testified that defendant was "a grandfather" in her family. K.A. indicated that she had lived at defendant's house on Albany Street, and could clearly recall several sexually inappropriate incidents involving defendant. She testified that the first incident occurred when she was four or five years old and had been dropped off at home after kindergarten. K.A. recalled that she and defendant were sitting on the sofa watching television when she reached for the remote and "ended up feeling" defendant's penis. She asked defendant what it was, and he told her she would to have to use it one day. Defendant then explained what to do, and she performed oral sex on him.
K.A. testified about a second incident at her grandmother's house on Albany Street, which was "up the street" from defendant's house on Albany where the first incident occurred, when she was in first or second grade. She recalled that she was in a room with her cousin, T.C., and a friend, when defendant called her into another room. She stated that defendant placed her on top of him and was moving her hips back and forth towards his hips. K.A. testified that defendant then flipped her over and "that was the first time he asked to insert his fingers." K.A. screamed, and T.C. came into the room. Defendant told him to go back. T.C. thought she was "getting a whooping," and K.A. said she thought it was "a whooping" at the time. K.A. testified that defendant told her not to tell anyone, that she was his princess, and called her "Tweety Bird."
K.A. testified about a third incident that occurred on Albany Street at the same house as the first incident. She stated that she and T.C. were lying on a pallet when defendant laid by her and performed oral sex on her. K.A. believed defendant stopped when he heard her aunt's car. Sometime later that day, K.A. went to the bathroom where T.C. was and started to do the same actions with T.C. that she had done with defendant. K.A. stated that her aunt came in and noticed they were "humping" and that she was about to perform oral sex on T.C., so she and T.C. "caught a whooping."[3] K.A. later asked defendant why T.C. did not like it since defendant did, and he told her not to do it with anyone else.
K.A testified about a fourth incident that occurred at a house on Gadsden Street, where they lived at the time, while her grandmother was at the store. K.A. was watching television when defendant came in the room, kissed her, took off both of their bottoms, and "actually inserted his self [sic] inside of" her. K.A. recalled that it was the first time he had done this and it hurt, so she screamed and started crying. K.A. testified that defendant stopped. When her grandmother came home, K.A. was still crying, so defendant said K.A. "caught a whooping because she was jumping from the sofa to the table or from the table to the sofa." K.A. recalled that her stomach was hurting that night, so her grandmother gave her Pepto-Bismol and she drank the entire bottle. K.A. testified that this incident occurred when she was about in the third grade and was about nine years old. She stated that this fourth incident was different than the others because previously, defendant would go slow and try to get her comfortable, but he did not ease her into it this time. K.A. explained that she remembered these four incidents vividly, but there were...
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