State v. Watson

• Decision Date: 18 August 1999
• Docket Number: No. 32,203-KA.,32,203-KA.
• Citation: 743 So.2d 239
• Parties: STATE of Louisiana, Appellee, v. Marshall K. WATSON, Appellant.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

743 So.2d 239

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee, v. Marshall K. WATSON, Appellant.

No. 32,203-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

August 18, 1999.

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J. Wilson Rambo, Louisiana Appellate Project, Monroe, Counsel for Appellant.

Richard Ieyoub, Attorney General, Jerry L. Jones, District Attorney, Charles L. Brumfield, Assistant District Attorney, Counsel for Appellee.

Before WILLIAMS, GASKINS and CARAWAY, JJ.

GASKINS, Judge.

The defendant, Marshall K. Watson, appeals his conviction and sentence for aggravated incest. The defendant contends that the conviction was based upon insufficient evidence and that his sentence to 15 years at hard labor is excessive. For the following reasons, we affirm the conviction and sentence.

FACTS

The victim of this offense is the defendant's stepdaughter. She was six years old when the defendant married the victim's mother. The defendant and the victim's mother have two sons. The defendant was in the Army for a number of years and the family lived in Georgia, Texas, Germany, Washington, and Louisiana. According to the record, the defendant sexually molested the victim from the time she was a young girl. The victim claimed that she reported the abuse to the authorities in Germany, but later recanted when the defendant threatened her.

The conduct at issue in this case began in 1992. In June of that year, the defendant retired from the Army and the family moved to Morehouse Parish. The victim was sixteen years old at that time. According to the victim, while the family lived in Morehouse Parish, the defendant sexually molested her by placing his finger in her vagina, touching her breasts, and performing oral sex upon her. Eventually the defendant began engaging in sexual intercourse with the victim.

According to the victim, when she resisted the defendant, he would choke her, throw things at her, twist her arms behind her back, and would pry her legs apart and twist her leg. The victim claimed that when she resisted the defendant, the atmosphere in the house would become tense and the defendant would "take it out" on her mother and half-brothers. The victim also claimed that the defendant threatened that if she ever told of the abuse, her mother would also go to jail, her half-brothers would be taken away and the family would end up in shelters. The victim stated that the defendant told her on various occasions that he would leave her alone when she began dating. However when she began dating, the abuse continued. The defendant then told the victim that even if she married and moved away, he would come to see her and would have sex with her. At other times the defendant told her that he would marry her when she turned eighteen and she would have his children. At one point, someone, possibly a family member, reported the abuse. A social worker contacted the victim. At that time, she lied to the social worker, denying the abuse.

The victim lived in the house with her mother, half-brothers and the defendant until she married on July 17, 1995. After she was married, she continued to visit her family. On one occasion, the victim's mother was not at home and the victim refused to enter the house with the defendant. She claimed that he pulled her chair out from under her as she sat on the porch and she fell to the concrete.

In December 1996, the victim met with Rose Worley, an investigator with the Morehouse Parish Sheriff's Office, and reported the defendant's offense. Investigator Worley also interviewed other family members, including the victim's half-brother, Michael Watson. Michael told the investigator that he had observed his father engaging in sexual conduct with the victim.

On January 14, 1997, a grand jury indictment was filed, charging the defendant with aggravated incest of his stepdaughter between June 1, 1992 and April 1, 1994. The defendant was tried by a six-person jury on July 21, 1998 and was found guilty as charged. The defendant filed a motion for post verdict judgment of acquittal which was heard on September 15, 1998. The defendant claimed there was insufficient evidence upon which to base his conviction. The trial court denied the motion, finding that, based upon the testimony of all the witnesses, the jury verdict of guilty was based upon credible and believable evidence. The defendant then waived the 72-hour rule of La.C.Cr.P. art. 873 and was sentenced on September 15, 1998. The trial court noted that the defendant's stepdaughter was convincing in her testimony and the six-person jury believed her. The court also noted that, in addition to the presentence investigation report, it received a lengthy letter from the defendant as well as one from the victim. The court sentenced the defendant to serve 15 years at hard labor. The defendant filed a motion to reconsider the sentence which was denied by the trial court. The defendant now appeals his conviction and sentence.

SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

The defendant contends that there was insufficient evidence upon which to base his conviction for aggravated incest. He also claims that the trial court erred in denying his motion for post verdict judgment of acquittal, which was based on the assertion of insufficiency of the evidence. These arguments are without merit.

When issues are raised on appeal both as to the sufficiency of the evidence and as to one or more trial errors, the reviewing court should first determine the sufficiency of the evidence. The reason for reviewing sufficiency first is that the accused may be entitled to an acquittal under Hudson v. Louisiana, 450 U.S. 40, 101 S.Ct. 970, 67 L.Ed.2d 30 (1981), if a rational trier of fact, viewing the evidence in accord with Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), in the light most favorable to the prosecution, could not reasonably conclude that all of the elements of the offense have been proved beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Hearold, 603 So.2d 731 (La.1992); State v. Bosley, 29,253 (La.App.2d Cir.4/2/97), 691 So.2d 347, writ denied, 97-1203 (La.10/17/97), 701 So.2d 1333. See also La.C.Cr.P. art. 821.

This court's authority to review questions of fact in a criminal case is limited to the sufficiency-of-the-evidence evaluation under Jackson v. Virginia, supra, and does not extend to credibility determinations made by the trier of fact. La. Const. art. 5, § 10; State v. Williams, 448 So.2d 753 (La.App. 2d Cir.1984). A reviewing court accords great deference to a jury's decision to accept or reject the testimony of a witness in whole or in part. State v. Rogers, 494 So.2d 1251 (La.App. 2d Cir.1986), writ denied, 499 So.2d 83 (La.1987); State v. Bosley, supra.

In the absence of internal contradiction or irreconcilable conflict with physical evidence, one witness's testimony, if believed by the trier of fact, is sufficient support for a requisite factual conclusion. State v. Ford, 28,724 (La.App.2d Cir.10/30/96), 682 So.2d 847, writ denied 99-0210 (La.5/14/99), 745 So.2d 12. This is equally applicable to the testimony of sexual assault victims. State v. Rives, 407 So.2d 1195 (La.1981); State v. Thomas, 30,490 (La.App.2d Cir.4/8/98), 711 So.2d 808; State v. Free, 26,267 (La.App.2d Cir.9/21/94), 643 So.2d 767, writ denied, 94-2846 (La.3/10/95), 650 So.2d 1175; State v. Standifer, 513 So.2d 481 (La.App. 2d Cir.1987). Indeed, such testimony alone is sufficient even where the state does not introduce medical, scientific, or physical evidence to prove the commission of the offense by the defendant. State v. Turner, 591 So.2d 391 (La.App. 2d Cir.1991), writ denied, 597 So.2d 1027 (La.1992).

La. R.S. 14:78.1 defines aggravated incest. That statute provides in pertinent part:

A. Aggravated incest is the engaging in any prohibited act enumerated in Subsection B with a person who is under eighteen years of age and who is known to the offender to be related to the offender as any of the following biological, step, or adoptive relatives: child, grandchild of any degree, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece.

B. The following are prohibited acts under this Section:

(1) Sexual intercourse, sexual battery, aggravated sexual battery, carnal knowledge of a juvenile, indecent behavior with juveniles, pornography involving juveniles, molestation of a juvenile, crime against nature, cruelty to juveniles, parent enticing a child into prostitution, or any other involvement of a child in sexual activity constituting a crime under the laws of this state.

(2) Any lewd fondling or touching of the person of either the child or the offender, done or submitted to with the intent to arouse or to satisfy the sexual desires of either the child, the offender, or both.

C. Consent is a defense under this Section to aggravated incest with or upon a stepson or stepdaughter unless the victim is less than eighteen years of age.

The record shows that there was sufficient evidence presented to establish all the essential elements of aggravated incest. This evidence established that the defendant engaged in a variety of prohibited sexual conduct with his step-daughter, including intercourse, while the stepdaughter was under the age of eighteen. According to the victim, when the family moved to Louisiana, they initially lived with the defendant's mother. While in her home, the defendant engaged in oral sex with the victim, inserted his finger in her vagina and fondled her breasts. After the family moved into their own residence, the defendant began having sexual intercourse with the victim. Her compliance was secured either through physical force or intimidation.

The defendant argues that the only evidence in this case was the victim's testimony and no scientific evidence was introduced at trial. He contends that, in order for the testimony of a single witness to satisfy the burden of proof, it must be free of inconsistencies. He asserts that if the testimony contains...