State v. Vanasse
| Decision Date | 19 June 1991 |
| Docket Number | No. 90-142-C,90-142-C |
| Parties | STATE v. Robert R. VANASSE et al. A. |
| Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
This matter is before the Supreme Court on the defendants' appeal from a judgment of conviction of first-degree sexual assault entered after a jury trial. We affirm.
The evidence in this case depicts the appalling environment in which a young child, victimized by sexual assault, was forced to live. At the time these events occurred, the victim, Mary Sue, 1 was six years old. She was the oldest of six children, all born to Mary Sue's mother, Ann Elliot-Diel (Ann Elliot). During the summer of 1983, Ann Elliot was married to defendant James Diel. Ann Elliot's second child was born of that brief union. James Diel was Mary Sue's stepfather. Ann Elliot's third child was born while she was still married to James Diel, but was not living with him as she was cohabitating with Norman Murphy. A total of three children were born as a result of that extramarital relationship.
The various residences of what was an itinerant family included a tenement house on Aleppo Street in Providence where Mary Sue lived with what could best be termed an extended family composed of the Elliots, the Diels, and the Murphys. Ann Elliot's mother, Muriel Smith, resided at that house. Evidently Smith, in addition to furnishing shelter for Ann Elliot's children, provided most meals and necessities. Ann Elliot did very little cooking or caring for herself or for her children.
The tenement house comprised two stories. Muriel Smith and her husband occupied one of the apartments on the first floor. A description of the three-room apartment reveals its meager character: a kitchen area, a living room with no furniture, and a single bedroom, scattered with a few beds, video equipment, televisions, and stereos.
Among the occasional overnight visitors who slept in Smith's apartment during the summer of 1983 were Ann Elliot along with Mary Sue and her brothers; Stacia Elliot, Melissa Elliot, and George Elliot, the sisters and brother of Ann Elliot; and defendant James Diel. Apparently, defendant Robert R. Vanasse (Vanasse), a close friend of James Diel's, was a frequent daytime visitor to the apartment. Overnight accommodations were tight since those who chose to sleep there slept "everywhere" and "on top of everything." In one of the second-floor apartments, Norman Murphy (Murphy), who spent a considerable amount of time downstairs with Ann Elliot, lived with his wife, Lottie Murphy.
The testimony at trial revealed that interrelationships and promiscuity among family members and friends abounded. James Diel's family members were interrelated or married to Ann Elliot's family members. In fact Ann Elliot's brother and one of her sisters were married to a sister and a brother of James Diel's. Concededly the evidence lends itself to confusion. Ann Elliot's sister, Leola Diel, who happened to have married James Diel's brother, Richard Diel, tried to explain but probably added to the confusion at trial when she testified. We cite a portion of the transcript:
The scene at Aleppo Street having been set, evidence was presented at trial that established the following. Leola Diel, Ann Elliot's sister (Mary Sue's aunt), testified that between May and September of 1983 she lived on Aleppo Street in an apartment in the immediate vicinity of Muriel Smith's apartment. (At the time of trial she was divorced from Richard Diel, James Diel's brother.) She testified that between those dates she observed both defendants, James Diel and Vanasse, frequently at Muriel Smith's apartment. Apparently when Vanasse or James Diel entered the apartment, Mary Sue would run and hide, sometimes under the kitchen sink. During this period Vanasse would often take Mary Sue, with the consent of her mother, to "a picnic or out to the park." When they returned, Mary Sue would always have money or candy because, according to Vanasse, she was behaving or "being a nice girl." Leola also observed that Vanasse often played with Mary Sue. According to Leola, one time when this activity occurred in the back yard, Vanasse had a "slight erection." She also noticed stains on Vanasse's pants in the groin area and conceded, "It could have been from * * * him going to the bathroom [or] it could have been from him coming to a slight climax."
When Mary Sue first told Leola that she had been sexually abused, Leola began to ask questions. Mary Sue stated that Murphy and James Diel had sexually assaulted her. According to Leola, Mary Sue told her that James Diel had "stuck his finger in her vagina, and then made her suck his penis." The only thing Mary Sue said about Vanasse was that she hated him. Mary Sue was crying and begged Leola not to tell her mother. Nevertheless, Leola approached Ann Elliot and told her everything. When Ann Elliot did not believe the accusations, Leola showed her Mary Sue's vaginal area. According to Leola, it was painful, "raw," and "looked like a grown woman's." There were "spots of blood on it where you could see she had been touched." Ann Elliot remained unconvinced and called Leola a liar.
Leola then confronted James Diel with the allegations of sexual abuse, to which he responded, Vanasse, who also heard the allegations, just laughed. For fear of her own safety and that of Mary Sue, Leola did not contact the Department of Children and Their Families (DCF) until eleven days later. Leola ultimately contacted a DCF employee, whereupon DCF immediately removed Mary Sue from her home and sent her to the hospital for examination.
Murphy testified at trial and admitted to his simultaneous involvement with Ann Elliot and his wife, Lottie. He conceded that while he was cohabitating with Ann Elliot, she was also "sleeping" with James Diel. Murphy also admitted to pleading guilty to the charge of second-degree child molestation in September of 1983. The victim was Mary Sue.
According to Murphy, Vanasse and James Diel would visit the Aleppo Street apartment "very often" during the period between May and September of 1983. Ann Elliot would often leave her daughter, Mary Sue, in the care of James Diel and Vanasse. Murphy testified that when drinking, James Diel admitted to having sexually abused Mary Sue:
Murphy testified that on at least two occasions he witnessed James Diel penetrate Mary Sue's vagina with his finger. On both occasions James Diel was in the bedroom of the Aleppo Street apartment. According to Murphy, James Diel had his pants down to his ankles, and Mary Sue, who was wearing a dress with no underwear, would be sitting there crying. Murphy also recalled another occasion when Mary Sue was sitting on James Diel's lap, and while his dungarees and underwear were down to his knees, he rubbed his penis against her vagina. In all three instances Mary Sue was clothed in a dress with no underwear and would "always be crying." When Murphy brought it to the attention of Ann Elliot, she laughed in his face.
Murphy testified that Vanasse also admitted to having sexual relations with Mary Sue. According to Murphy, Vanasse actually stated that he liked to perform cunnilingus on her. Murphy twice observed Vanasse in the Aleppo Street apartment having sexual relations with Mary Sue. On one occasion in the basement Mary Sue was on her knees engaging in fellatio with Vanasse. Vanasse had his hand on her head, forcing it to go back and forth. Murphy saw Vanasse do the same thing to Mary Sue in the bedroom. On that particular occasion Vanasse, who happened to notice Murphy, told him not to tell anyone. When Murphy told Mary Sue's mother, she laughed once again. On a third occasion Murphy also saw Vanasse engage in cunnilingus with Mary Sue.
Melissa Elliot, one of Ann Elliot's sisters and an aunt to Mary Sue, testified at trial. She was thirteen years old at the time of trial. During the summer of 1983 Melissa frequently saw James Diel giving Mary Sue money and candy. At one point during that summer while Melissa was living on Aleppo Street, she observed James Diel lying on top of Mary Sue. When Diel became aware of Melissa's presence, he immediately got off Mary Sue, walked toward a window with his back toward Melissa and pulled up his zipper. Mary Sue's shorts and underpants were around her ankles and Melissa could see her bare skin. Mary Sue pulled up her panties and shorts and told Melissa not to tell anyone.
Mary Sue testified at trial. that Vanasse would visit the Aleppo...
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