Steele v. Warden

• Decision Date: 18 May 2015
• Docket Number: Case No. 2:13-cv-1267
• Parties: JOSHUA STEELE, Petitioner, v. WARDEN, MANSFIELD CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Ohio

JOSHUA STEELE, Petitioner, v. WARDEN, MANSFIELD CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION, Respondent.

Case No. 2:13-cv-1267

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO EASTERN DIVISION

May 18, 2015

Judge Graham

Magistrate Judge King

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Petitioner, a state prisoner, brings this action for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254.This matter is before the Court on the Petition, ECF 3, Respondent's Return of Writ, ECF 9, Petitioner's Traverse, ECF 16, Respondent's Response, ECF 17, and the exhibits of the parties.For the reasons that follow, the Magistrate Judge RECOMMENDS that this action be DISMISSED.

Facts and Procedural History

The Ohio Fifth District Court of Appeals summarized the facts and procedural history as follows:

Beginning in 2006, Rich and Mindy Lyons, along with their three children Jonathan, Nicole, and victim J.L., lived on a rented farm.In 2009, Steele, Mr. Lyons' nephew, moved into the Lyons' home so Steele could be closer to his employment at a nearby golf course.Steele left for work daily at approximately 6:30 a.m. and returned to the home at approximately 3:00 p.m., at which time the family members would perform various chores, eat dinner, and watch movies.Due to a recent back surgery, Mr. Lyons went to sleep by 10:00 p.m. while Mrs. Lyons worked third shift at a local factory from 8:30 p.m. until 6:00 a.m.

After Mr. and Mrs. Lyons went to either sleep or work respectively, Steele, J.L., and her sister Nicole would often watch movies in the basement of the home.However, Nicole would go to

bed at which time Steele would make his cousin J.L. touch him and have sex with him.This occurred almost every night.According to J.L., Steele first tried to persuade J.L. to engage in sexual activity by buying her items such as Monster energy drinks.When J.L. refused Steele's advances, he began molesting her by forcing J.L. to masturbate him and later progressed to forced oral and vaginal sex.J.L. testified that forced sexual encounters occurred in the living room, basement, and bedroom.

Mr. and Mrs. Lyons were unaware of Steele's victimization of J.L. even though they viewed several suspicious activities that were later determined to be indicators of Steele's molestation of J.L.For example, Mrs. Lyons was awakened late one night by the family dog barking in J.L.'s room.Mrs. Lyons found Steele in the room supposedly to retrieve "movies."Further, Mr. Lyons viewed Steele alone with J.L. on one occasion during which Mr. Lyons observed Steele to have "pinned" a crying J.L. between their house and a line of cars.J.L. also began sleeping with her father or had the family dog sleep with her as well in an effort to try to stop Steele's unwanted sexual advances.Moreover, while Steele lived with the Lyons' family, J.L. was very depressed and refused to socialize with anyone, which was completely different from her "happy normal self' and her demeanor as a "happy go lucky kid."

J.L. did not disclose Steele's criminal actions until roughly one year later because she was "scared" of him after he previously held a knife up to her arm and was further "worried about getting in trouble" by her parents.J.L. eventually told a friend about Steele's acts and the friend stated she would tell J.L.'s parents even if J.L. refused to do so.As a result, J.L. eventually disclosed to her parents on March 7, 2010, that Steele molested her.Mr. Lyons subsequently called the Delaware County Sheriff's Office.Detective Christina Burke was assigned to investigate J.L.'s case.Steele spoke to Detective Burke and denied all of the allegations.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On March 25, 2011, an indictment (Case No. 11 CRI 03 0176) was filed in the Delaware County Common Pleas Court charging Steele, with four counts of rape, all violations of Ohio Revised Code Section 2907.02(A)(2), four counts of Unlawful Sexual Conduct with a Minor, all violations of Ohio Revised Code Section 2907.04(A), one count of Gross Sexual Imposition, a violation of Ohio Revised Code Section 2907.05(A)(1), and three counts of Gross Sexual Imposition, all violations of Ohio Revised Code Section 2907.05(A)(4).

The original case was dismissed and Steele was re-indicted on August 26, 2011(Case No. 11 CRI 08 0463).The new indictment charged Steele with five counts of rape, all violations of Ohio Revised Code Section 2907.02(A)(2), five counts of Unlawful Sexual Conduct with a Minor, all violations of Ohio Revised Code Section 2907.04(A), one count of Gross Sexual Imposition, a violation of Ohio Revised Code Section 2907.05(A)(1), and one count of Gross Sexual Imposition, a violation of Ohio Revised Code Section 2907.05(A)(4).

Nine items retrieved from the Lyons' home were submitted to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation [BCI & I] for DNA testing.The first five items were pieces of physical evidence obtained from Steele's living quarters in the basement of J.L.'s home: a couch cover, a washcloth, a sleeping bag, a fitted sheet, and a flat sheet.The last four items submitted were DNA samples obtained from J.L., her sister Nicole, her brother Jonathan, and Steele to be used for comparison.

According to the report, the sleeping bag was found to contain semen and was also found to be presumptive for the presence of blood.However, subsequent testing at BCI & I indicated that a probative DNA sample could not be obtained.

During the course of trial preparation, the state learned the four other physical items taken from Steele's living quarters were also tested by BCI & I and tested positive for either semen or seminal fluid.At the final pre-trial conference held September 2, 2011, the state asked for a continuance of the September 6, 2011 trial date in order for the test results to be completed and supplied to Steel's attorney in compliance with Crim.R .16(K).Steele objected to the continuance.As a result, the trial court denied the state's request to continue the trial and ruled the new evidence was not admissible at trial.(3T. at 270-271;5T. at 470-471).

Trial commenced on September 6, 2011.After the close of evidence on the first day of trial Steele's attorney received a copy of the DNA report.According to the report, the results of the DNA comparison reveal that the

Differential extraction of the couch cover (item 1.1) resulted in a mixture of at least two individuals and is consistent with contributions from Joshua Steele.No conclusions can be made regarding [J.L.], Nicole Lyons and Jonathon Lyons as possible contributors to themixture."Furthermore, "the differential extraction of the washcloth (item 2.1) resulted in a single DNA profile from an unknown female" and that the "differential extraction of the fitted sheet (Item 4.1) and the flat sheet (Item 5 .1) resulted in a single DNA profile from the same unknown male."Furthermore, the results revealed, "[J.L.], Nicole Lyons, Jonathon Lyons and Joshua Steele are not the source of the DNA from the washcloth, the fitted sheet or the flat sheet.

At trial, the State introduced a copy of a laboratory report produced by Sarah Glass, a forensic biologist with the BCI & I, as State's Exhibit 18.This evidence was limited to the evidence pertaining to the sleeping bag.In addition, J.L., her parents Richard and Mindy Lyons, therapist Marjan Cuckler, testified on behalf of the state.

At the conclusion of the state's case-in-chief, the trial court granted Steele'sCrim.R. 29 Motion for Acquittal regarding Count Twelve of the Indictment.Count Twelve concerned a previous occurrence of sexual conduct by Steele against J.L. at a location in Franklin County, which occurred sometime between 2001 and 2004.During this incident, J.L., who was age six at the time, stayed at the residence of Steele's parents while her parents were out of town.J.L. testified that during that visit, she was lying on her side on a bed when Steele lay behind her and placed his erect penis against her buttocks while both were clothed.The trial court noted Count Twelve was alleged to have occurred between 2001 and 2004 while the other counts occurred five years later in 2009 at a different location.Accordingly, the trial court granted Steele'sCrim.R. 29 motion regarding Count Twelve.

Steele testified in his own defense.His motherPamela Steele testified concerning her knowledge of the facts.Norma Wells, a neighbor, testified as to Steele's character.Nicole Lyons, who is J.L.'s sister, testified on Steele's behalf as to her personal observations of Steele and J.L.The state then called Richard Lyons as a rebuttal witness.

The jury returned with guilty verdicts on Count Two (Unlawful Sexual Conduct with a Minor, F3), Count Four (Unlawful Sexual Conduct with a Minor, F3), Count Five (Rape, F1), Count Six (Unlawful Sexual Conduct with a Minor, F3), Count Eight (Unlawful Sexual Conduct with a Minor, F3), Count Nine (Rape, F1), Count Ten (Unlawful Sexual Conduct with a Minor, F3), and Count Eleven (Gross Sexual Imposition (Force), F3).The jurymade findings of Not Guilty on Counts One (Rape), Three (Rape), and Seven (Rape).

State v. Steele, No. 2011-CA-110, 2012 WL 3574716, at *1-3(Ohio App. 5^th Dist.Aug. 17, 2012).The convictions were affirmed on appeal, id., and on January 23, 2013, the Ohio Supreme Court denied Petitioner's appeal. State v. Steele, 134 Ohio St.3d 1420(2013).

On December 26, 2013, Petitioner filed this action for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254.He asserts that the trial court improperly denied his motion for a new trial(claims one and three), that the evidence is constitutionally insufficient to sustain his convictions and the trial court improperly denied his motion for judgment of acquittal(claim two), and that his convictions are against the manifest weight of the evidence (claim four).

Standard of Review

Petitioner seeks habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254.The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act ("AEDPA") sets forth standards governing ...