State v. Luna Huezo
| Decision Date | 01 December 2020 |
| Docket Number | 36001-6-III |
| Parties | STATE OF WASHINGTON, Respondent, v. JUAN JOSE LUNA HUEZO, Appellant. |
| Court | Washington Court of Appeals |
UNPUBLISHED OPINION
Juan Luna Huezo appeals from convictions for raping and molesting two stepdaughters. He challenges the sufficiency of evidence. He also claims the trial court committed error when permitting the stepdaughters to answer some questions in writing and when excluding testimony from family members of his sexual morality and decency. We find no error and affirm.
We gather our facts from trial testimony. We expand on some of the facts when describing the case's procedure.
Juan Luna Huezo is the stepfather of Tammy, born April 5, 2005 and Bonnie, born July 31, 2006, both pseudonyms. The girl's mother began dating Luna Huezo in November 2009 and married him in January 2010. Luna Huezo is more than two decades older than the girls.
At age nine, Tammy became the subject of sexual abuse by Juan Luna Huezo. Luna Huezo began sexually abusing Bonnie when she was eight years old.
At trial, Tammy testified that Juan Luna Huezo sexually touched her on several occasions and in multiple locations in Kennewick, including at an apartment her family rented at the Hawaiian Village Apartments, at her family's home on Steptoe Street, at her aunt Niashia Morales Enriquez's residence, and in a vehicle. The sexual touching included Luna Huezo placing his hand on Tammy's private parts placing his private parts against her body, and placing his penis inside her mouth.
Tammy further testified that Juan Luna Huezo tied her hands behind her back with duct tape. Luna Huezo obtained a condom from a blue and gray backpack in the bathroom and placed it on his penis. Luna Huezo also rubbed oil on his penis. During trial Luna Huezo confirmed that he used condoms and oil when engaging in sexual activity.
According to Tammy, Juan Luna Huezo also sexually abused her sister. Once Tammy asked Luna Huezo whether he was "doing the same thing [to Bonnie]," and he responded that he was. Report of Proceedings (RP) at 271.
Bonnie testified that Juan Luna Huezo touched her private area once. Bonnie further testified that she witnessed Juan Luna Huezo touch Tammy's private parts while Tammy slept at the Steptoe house. Bonnie witnessed Luna Huezo take Tammy into his bedroom, at which time she heard Tammy crying.
On February 8, 2017, friends of eleven-year-old Tammy saw her crying during fifth grade music class. After speaking with Tammy, her friends informed their teacher about their concerns. Tammy's teacher then contacted Sarah McMullin the school counselor, who spoke with Tammy.
Tammy and her ten-year-old sister, Bonnie, disclosed to Sarah McMullin that Juan Luna Huezo sexually abused them. McMullin contacted the Kennewick Police Department. On February 8, 2017, Mauri Murstig, a forensic child interviewer at the Sexual Advocacy Response Center, interviewed both children.
On the night of February 8, 2017, Kennewick Police Department Detective Jose Santoy obtained warrants to search Tammy and Bonnie's home and the residence of their aunt, Niashia Morales Enriquez. Police found condoms, duct tape, zip ties, and a zebra blanket. Law enforcement neither preserved nor tested the blanket for DNA.
At some unidentified date, Dr. Shannon Phipps, later a trial witness, examined Tammy. Tammy was fearful and withdrawn while relating her history to Dr. Phipps. Tammy informed the physician that "she [Tammy] was too small," such that Juan Luna Huezo's penis did not fit inside her. RP at 161. Dr. Phipps' found no physical abnormalities in Tammy.
The State of Washington charged Juan Luna Huezo with one count of rape of a child in the first degree for conduct involving Tammy and three counts of child molestation in the first degree, with one count involving Tammy and two counts involving Bonnie. The one count of rape of a child in the first degree and the first count of child molestation in the first degree alleged aggravating circumstances of an ongoing pattern of sexual abuse and breach of a position of trust. The second count of child molestation in the first degree alleged the aggravating circumstance of violation of a position of trust.
During a pretrial interview with defense counsel, Tammy disclosed that sexual contact imposed by Juan Luna Huezo occurred fifty-eight times at the Hawaiian Village apartment and that her mother was home on about thirty of the occasions. Tammy also disclosed that sexual contact occurred twenty times at Niashia Morales Enriquez's residence and thirty times at the Steptoe house.
Before trial, the trial court granted the State's motion in limine precluding a witness from assessing the credibility of another witness. Also at the beginning of trial, the court entertained the State's motion to exclude character and reputation evidence. Juan Luna Huezo intended to have four witnesses testify to his sexual morality and decency: his ex-spouse, Laura Martinez; his daughter, Alexis Huezo; and his two sisters-in-law, Nancy Morales Enriquez and Niashia Morales Enriquez. The trial court allowed Luna Huezo to present offers of proof before ruling on the State's motion to exclude the family member's testimony. During the offer of proof, Luna Huezo did not ask Alexis Huezo questions regarding his reputation for sexual morality. He conceded that he failed to establish a sufficient foundation for Nancy Morales Enriquez and Niashia Morales Enriquez to testify to his reputation in the community. The trial court denied any testimony from the four witnesses as to Luna Huezo's morality.
During her testimony, the State asked Tammy to describe Juan Luna Huezo's penis. Tammy did not respond. The State then asked Tammy whether she would prefer to write her answer, to which Tammy nodded affirmatively. Defense counsel objected to a written answer, but the trial court overruled the objection. Tammy's written answer read, "It was long and tiny hair." RP at 264. Defense counsel cross-examined Tammy, but did not question her about the one written answer.
During trial, Tammy did not testify to the the number of times of sexual contact she earlier reported to defense counsel. Rather, she testified that Juan Luna Huezo touched her privates one time at the Hawaiian Village apartment, put his penis against her vagina more than once at the Hawaiian Village apartment, and touched her vagina one time at Niashia Morales Enriquez's residence.
Bonnie testified with difficulty during trial. Bonnie did not answer some questions and responded to other questions with "I don't know" or "I don't remember." RP at 216-44. Bonnie testified that Juan Luna Huezo touched her private part on one occasion.
Bonnie did not respond to a State's question of why she did not tell her mother about her stepfather's conduct. When she hesitated to answer, the State asked Bonnie to write her answer. The trial court overruled defense counsel's objection to a written answer. The court commented:
This child is 11 and has been on the stand since a little after 11 o'clock. It's now 11:28. This witness is clearly having a difficult time responding and answering to questions. . . .
RP at 228. Bonnie wrote that she did not tell her mother because she thought her mother would not believe her.
When the State asked Bonnie why she did not inform her mother about Tammy's crying while being molested by Juan Luna Huezo, Bonnie replied that she was scared. When asked by the State why she was scared, Bonnie did not respond. Bonnie wrote her response over the defense's objection. The State showed Bonnie's response to the jury. Our record does not include the response. Defense counsel chose not to cross-examine Bonnie.
During trial, the forensic child interviewer, Mauri Murstig explained the concept of episodic memory versus script memory:
[A]sking a child who has experienced that [sexual abuse] for a long period of time, you know, they're not going to be able to give you an exact number that happened over months or years. And so, you know, what we try to do is just one time, more than one time and then try to get them to provide as many, you know, if there were specific times they could remember, specific episodes, we try to focus on that. But, you know, it's going to be impossible to have them describe every time something happened, if it happened, you know, over a long period of time.
Dr. Shannon Phipps, D.O. testified about the physical examination she conducted on Tammy. The State's attorney questioned Phipps: "because you don't find any kind of physical manifestations in her body, does that mean that no sexual abuse occurred?" RP at 154. Dr. Phipps answered:
RP at 154. Phipps averred that she would not expect to see tears or lesions in the vaginal area if a penis rubbed against the area, rather than entered the vagina. Finally, Dr. Phipps declared that "[i]t's more typical not to find findings than to find findings" in sexual assault exams. RP at 161.
Kennewick Police Department Detective Jose Santoy testified during trial. He explained the reason for not testing or preserving for evidence the zebra blanket.
[T]he blanket, like I said, it was in a general area of the bedroom and any of the children could have touched it, to...
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