Wright v. State

Decision Date26 November 1991
Docket NumberNo. 20A03-9107-CR-221,20A03-9107-CR-221
Citation581 N.E.2d 978
PartiesRussell WRIGHT, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.
CourtIndiana Appellate Court

R. Brent Zook, Goshen, for appellant-defendant.

Linley E. Pearson, Atty. Gen., Sue A. Bradley, Deputy Atty. Gen., Office of Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee-plaintiff.

HOFFMAN, Judge.

Appellant-defendant Russell Wright appeals his conviction for child molesting.

The facts relevant to this appeal disclose that the seven-year-old victim, M.M., lived with her mother, S.W., and her stepfather, the defendant Russell Wright. M.M. testified at trial that the defendant had told her to lie on the floor with him. He then climbed on top of her and rubbed his penis between her legs. They were both fully clothed at the time.

M.M. testified that similar incidents had occurred before and that it happened twice when they had their clothes partially off. On the latter occasions, the defendant attempted penetration but was unsuccessful. Instead, he rubbed against M.M. until he ejaculated.

After the incidents, the defendant admonished M.M. not to tell anyone. In addition, he promised he would buy her a bicycle if she did not tell.

However, on January 16, 1990, M.M. reported the incidents to a school official. M.M. was placed in a foster home and the State filed an information charging the defendant with child molesting, a Class C felony.

A detective for the Elkhart County Sheriff's Office took a statement from the defendant regarding the incidents. Defendant denied the allegations. The detective also took a statement from M.M.'s mother in which she stated that defendant had admitted molesting M.M. twice. However, she later gave a revised statement denying that the defendant had told her that he molested M.M.

At trial, the State called the victim as the first witness. She testified as to the above-described events.

The State then called Pat Reilly as a witness. Reilly was a social worker and had seen M.M. 27 times in a group setting and five times individually. Reilly testified that she did not believe M.M. to be a child who is prone to fantasize or to exaggerate in sexual matters and that she had learned nothing about M.M. that would be inconsistent with the assertion that M.M. had been a victim of sexual abuse. Defense objected to the latter statements made by Reilly. The trial court overruled the objections.

The State also presented the testimony of the detective. He testified to the statements made by defendant and M.M.'s mother.

M.M.'s mother, S.W., was called as a defense witness. She explained that when she found M.M. had been taken by protective services, she feared she would lose the rest of her children, so she left for Mississippi. When she returned to Indiana, she gave her first statement to the detective admitting that defendant had confessed to molesting M.M. in hopes of having her daughter returned to her. However, she gave a second statement admitting that she had lied about defendant's confessions. She testified that she did not believe in her heart that her husband would molest her daughter. She further testified that she only left her daughter alone with defendant for approximately ten minutes when she would go to the store. Upon returning, she never noticed any unusual behavior from M.M.

Defense then called Kathy Herring as its next witness. Herring was to testify as to a prior inconsistent statement given by the victim. The State objected and made a motion in limine to prevent Herring from testifying to any prior inconsistent statements made by the victim. The State claimed that defense had failed to lay a proper foundation for these statements by failing to cross-examine the victim first as to the prior inconsistent statements. The trial court granted the motion in limine and stated that the testimony would have been permitted if defense had laid a proper foundation.

Defense made an offer to prove at which time Herring testified that M.M. had told her that she did not like her stepfather, the defendant, because he would not let her play. Herring stated that M.M. told her that she had made up the story based on what a friend told M.M. about being molested by her father. M.M. stated that she now lived in a house where she could have all the fun that she wanted. Herring testified that M.M. had admitted on one other occasion that she lied about her stepfather molesting her. She also admitted that M.M. had once told her that her stepfather had molested her twice, but then increased the molesting to five times, then increased the number again.

The defense then called the defendant to testify. The defendant denied ever having molested the victim.

The jury returned a verdict of guilty of child molesting. The defendant was sentenced to three years imprisonment.

Two issues are raised by the defendant for appeal:

(1) whether he was denied effective assistance of counsel; and

(2) whether the trial court erred in allowing certain statements made by the social worker, Pat Reilly, at trial.

To prevail on a claim of ineffectiveness of counsel, a defendant must show (1) that his counsel's errors were unreasonable, and (2) that these errors prejudiced his defense. The defendant must show that there is a reasonable probability that, but for his counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. St. John v. State (1988), Ind.App., 529 N.E.2d 371, 378. To meet this burden, the defendant must overcome by strong and convincing evidence a presumption that counsel has prepared and executed his client's defense effectively. Schiro v. State (1989), Ind., 533 N.E.2d 1201, 1206. This Court will not speculate on the most advantageous strategy that defense should...

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  • Browning v. State
    • United States
    • United States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
    • April 24, 2006
    ...238, 200 Ill.Dec. 784, 635 N.E.2d 1367, 1373-75 (1994); Ellyson v. State, 603 N.E.2d 1369, 1374 (Ind.Ct.App.1992); Wright v. State, 581 N.E.2d 978, 980 (Ind.Ct.App.1991). 33. 2001 OK CR 21, 29 P.3d 34. Id. at 601. 35. Id. at 602. 36. Id at 602-03. 37. Id. at 603. 38. Wiggins, 539 U.S. at 52......
  • Hoglund v. State
    • United States
    • Indiana Supreme Court
    • March 8, 2012
    ... ... denied. As a result of this delicate line-drawing Lawrence has been cited in support of allowing various statements that indirectly accredit or vouch for a child's testimony. For example in Wright v. State , the Court of Appeals upheld a social worker's testimony that she did not believe the victim was prone to fantasize or exaggerate in sexual matters, and that she learned nothing about [the child witness] that would be inconsistent with the assertion that [the child] had been a victim of ... ...
  • Shaffer v. State, 67A01-9601-CR-12
    • United States
    • Indiana Appellate Court
    • November 27, 1996
    ...(allowing testimony that child is not prone to exaggerate or fantasize about sexual matters); see also Wright v. State, 581 N.E.2d 978, 980-81 (Ind.Ct.App.1991) (allowing testimony that child's statement was not inconsistent with assertion that child was victim of sexual abuse). It was not ......
  • Hoglund v. State
    • United States
    • Indiana Appellate Court
    • May 19, 2011
    ...Again, I'm going to object—I apologize, I'll let him finish the question, I apologize. State: And the Your Honor, I would cite Wright v. State, it's 581 N.E.2d 978 is one case and a line of cases that stem from that decision. Wright v. State affirmed by (inaudible) v. State, 1995, Stewart v......
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