Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 20A-CR-102 | December 7, 2020 Page 1 of 10

MEMORANDUM DECISION

Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), 

this Memorandum Decision shall not be 

regarded as precedent or cited before any 

court except for the purpose of establishing 

the defense of res judicata, collateral 

estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT

Christopher Kunz

Marion County Public Defender

Appellate Division

Indianapolis, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE

Curtis T. Hill, Jr.

Attorney General

Tiffany A. McCoy

Deputy Attorney General

Indianapolis, Indiana

I N T H E

COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Robert L. Morrison,

Appellant-Defendant,

v.

State of Indiana,

Appellee-Plaintiff

December 7, 2020

Court of Appeals Case No.

20A-CR-102

Appeal from the 

Marion Superior Court

The Honorable 

Lisa Borges, Judge

Trial Court Cause No.

49G04-1810-FA-37521

Vaidik, Judge.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 20A-CR-102 | December 7, 2020 Page 2 of 10

Case Summary

[1] Robert L. Morrison challenges the sufficiency of the evidence and his thirtyyear advisory sentence for Class A felony child molesting. We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

[2] April Hurley has two daughters, T.H. and K.H. In March 2009, April moved 

into her mother Radeena McKamey’s house in Indianapolis. Morrison, who 

dated Radeena, also lived there. On the weekends, T.H., who was six or seven 

years old, and K.H., who was five or six years old, stayed with April at 

Radeena’s house. Tr. Vol. II pp. 203, 223. In June 2009, April, T.H., and K.H.

moved into their own house in Indianapolis. Because April worked two jobs, 

Radeena often babysat the girls at her house or April’s house. Morrison 

sometimes went with Radeena to April’s house. Radeena and Morrison broke 

up later that year.

[3] In 2016, April, T.H., and K.H. moved to Texas. In April 2018, K.H. disclosed 

to her mother that Morrison had inappropriately touched her when he lived 

with Radeena. After talking to T.H., April called the police and took T.H. and 

K.H. to a child-advocacy center in Texas to be interviewed.

[4] In October 2018, the State charged Morrison with Class A felony child 

molesting (“deviate sexual conduct”) relating to T.H. and Class C felony child 

molesting (touching or fondling) relating to K.H. The State also alleged 

Morrison was a habitual offender. 
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[5] A jury trial was held in December 2019. T.H. was seventeen years old, and 

K.H. was fifteen. K.H. testified Morrison touched her over and under her 

clothes. T.H. testified about a time when Morrison touched her “in between” 

her “labia.” T.H. said she and K.H. were asleep in their bunk beds when she 

woke up to Morrison touching her:

Q And were you asleep when you remember something 

happening? 

A Yeah, I remember falling asleep; but waking up.

Q Okay. So what do you remember waking up to? 

A Him touching me.

Q And when you say him touching you, who is him?

A Robert.

Q And what do you remember feeling when you woke up? I 

know you said him touching you. But what part of your 

body was he touching?

A My vagina.

Q And do you remember what he was touching your body 

with? 

A His hands.
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Q Was that over the clothes or under the clothes? 

A Under the clothes.

* * * * *

Q Okay. And when his hand was on your vagina, what 

specifically did his hand do?

A It like touched inside my pants.

Q It touched inside your pants?

A Yes.

Q Where inside your pants did it touch?

A Like between like the two flaps.

Q You said the two flaps? 

A Yes.

Q Okay. Do you know is there another name for that? 

A Labia, I think?

Q You said labia?

A Yes.
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Q And so then is there anything else that was touched? 

A No; no, ma’am.

Q Was he outside what you referred to as labia . . ., in

between the two labia? 

A In between. 

Q All right. And did he go any further than that that you 

recall? 

A No, ma’am.

Id. at 226-28. T.H. said she heard K.H. moving around in her bunk, so she let 

Morrison continue touching her so he would not touch her younger sister. Id. at 

228.

[6] The jury found Morrison guilty of both child-molesting counts and also found 

him to be a habitual offender. At the sentencing hearing, April described how 

her daughters had experienced “[d]aily struggles of anxiety and questioning 

their self-worth” and how T.H. had experienced gender-identity issues due to

the molestation. Tr. Vol. III p. 117. In addition, the State presented evidence of 

Morrison’s criminal history. As a juvenile, Morrison was adjudicated a 

delinquent for burglary and theft. Morrison’s adult criminal history includes 

one misdemeanor conviction for prostitution in 1988 and three felony 

convictions: Class B felony burglary in 1985 and Class B felony burglary and 

Class D felony theft in 1989. While Morrison was in prison for his 1989 
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 20A-CR-102 | December 7, 2020 Page 6 of 10

convictions, he had twenty-nine “prison conduct incidents.” Appellant’s App. 

Vol. II p. 167. In addition, Morrison has violated his probation and had his 

probation revoked.

[7] The trial court identified no mitigators and five aggravators: (1) the harm 

suffered by T.H. and K.H. was significant and greater than the elements 

necessary to prove the offenses because they “have continued to reexperience 

the events of their molestation . . . as they have grown up”; (2) T.H. and K.H. 

were present when each other was molested; (3) T.H. “has experienced longterm sexual identity issues” due to the molestation; (4) Morrison was in a 

position of trust with T.H. and K.H.; and (5) Morrison had “29 prison conduct 

incidents between 1992 and 1995.” Tr. Vol. III pp. 133, 134. The court 

acknowledged Morrison had a criminal history but noted it was “aged” and he 

had “lived essentially a law-[a]biding life for a good number of years.” Id. at 

134. The court sentenced Morrison to the advisory term of thirty years for Class 

A felony child molesting, enhanced by thirty years for being a habitual offender, 

and four years for Class C felony child molesting.1 The court ordered the 

sentences to be served consecutively, for a total sentence of sixty-four years.

[8] Morrison now appeals.2

1 At the time of the offenses, the habitual-offender statute required a thirty-year enhancement. See Ind. Code §

35-50-2-8(h) (2009).

2

In his opening brief, Morrison argued his Class C felony child-molesting conviction should be reversed 

because prosecution was barred by the statute of limitations. However, in his reply brief, Morrison concedes

the State correctly argued there was no statute-of-limitations violation. Appellant’s Reply Br. p. 4. 
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 20A-CR-102 | December 7, 2020 Page 7 of 10

Discussion and Decision

I. Sufficiency of the Evidence

[9] Morrison challenges the sufficiency of the evidence for his Class A felony childmolesting conviction.

3When reviewing sufficiency-of-the-evidence claims, we 

neither reweigh the evidence nor judge the credibility of witnesses. Willis v.

State, 27 N.E.3d 1065, 1066 (Ind. 2015). We will only consider the evidence 

supporting the verdict and any reasonable inferences that can be drawn from 

the evidence. Id. A conviction will be affirmed if there is substantial evidence of 

probative value to support each element of the offense such that a reasonable 

trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable 

doubt. Id.

[10] To obtain a conviction for Class A felony child molesting as charged here, the 

State had to prove that Morrison, who was at least twenty-one years old, 

knowingly or intentionally performed “deviate sexual conduct” with T.H., who 

was less than fourteen. Ind. Code § 35-42-4-3(a) (2009); Appellant’s App. Vol. 

II p. 27. Although the legislature has since replaced the term “deviate sexual 

conduct” with “other sexual conduct” in the child-molesting statute, the 

definitions are identical: “the penetration of the sex organ or anus of a person 

by an object.” Ind. Code §§ 35-41-1-9 (2009), 35-31.5-2-221.5.

3 Morrison does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence for his Class C felony child-molesting 

conviction.
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[11] Morrison argues the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction because 

“merely touching the exterior genitalia is not ‘penetration’ for purposes of child 

molesting.” Appellant’s Br. p. 9. In Boggs v. State, the defendant was found 

guilty of Level 1 felony child molesting for engaging in “other sexual conduct.”

104 N.E.3d 1287, 1288 (Ind. 2018). The victim testified the defendant put his 

finger “in the folds of her vagina” and touched her clitoris. Id. The defendant

appealed, arguing the evidence was insufficient to prove “penetration” for 

purposes of the statute defining “other sexual conduct.” Our Supreme Court 

held “proof of the slightest penetration of the sex organ, including penetration 

of the external genitalia, is sufficient to demonstrate a person performed” “other 

sexual conduct” with a child. Id. at 1289. Finding the defendant performed

“other sexual conduct” with the victim, the Court affirmed his conviction for 

Level 1 felony child molesting.

[12] This case is similar to Boggs. T.H. testified Morrison put his hand “in between” 

her “labia.” Contrary to Morrison’s claim, he didn’t merely touch T.H.’s 

external genitalia; rather, he put his hand “in between” her external genitalia. 

Under Boggs, this is penetration.

4 We therefore affirm Morrison’s conviction for 

Class A felony child molesting. 

4 Morrison claims this case is similar to Spurlock v. State, 675 N.E.2d 312 (Ind. 1996). It is not. In Spurlock, the 

defendant argued the evidence was insufficient to prove penetration for purposes of sexual intercourse. Our 

Supreme Court agreed, pointing out the victim testified the defendant “tried” to have sexual intercourse with 

her but she didn’t know whether he put his penis inside her. Id. at 315. Here, T.H. knew exactly what 

happened to her: Morrison put his hand “in between” her “labia.” 
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II. Inappropriate Sentence

[13] Morrison next contends his thirty-year sentence for Class A felony child 

molesting is inappropriate and asks us to revise it under Indiana Appellate Rule 

7(B) to twenty years, resulting in a total sentence of fifty-four years instead of 

sixty-four years.

5 Appellate Rule 7(B) provides that an appellate court “may 

revise a sentence authorized by statute if, after due consideration of the trial 

court’s decision, the Court finds that the sentence is inappropriate in light of the 

nature of the offense and the character of the offender.” “Whether a sentence is 

inappropriate ultimately turns on the culpability of the defendant, the severity 

of the crime, the damage done to others, and a myriad of other factors that 

come to light in a given case.” Thompson v. State, 5 N.E.3d 383, 391 (Ind. Ct. 

App. 2014) (citing Cardwell v. State, 895 N.E.2d 1219, 1224 (Ind. 2008)). 

Because we generally defer to the judgment of trial courts in sentencing matters, 

defendants must persuade us that their sentences are inappropriate. Schaaf v. 

State, 54 N.E.3d 1041, 1044-45 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016).

[14] A person who commits a Class A felony shall be imprisoned for a fixed term of 

between twenty to fifty years, with an advisory sentence of thirty years. Ind. 

Code § 35-50-2-4(a). Here, the trial court sentenced Morrison to the advisory 

term of thirty years.

5 Morrison doesn’t challenge his habitual-offender enhancement or his sentence for Class C felony child

molesting.
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[15] There is nothing about the nature of the offense that requires a revision of 

Morrison’s advisory sentence. Morrison, who was dating T.H.’s grandmother, 

molested T.H. while her younger sister was in the other bunk. According to 

April, T.H. has experienced “[d]aily struggles of anxiety and questioning [her]

self-worth” and gender-identity issues due to the molestation.

[16] As for his character, Morrison notes he has led a law-abiding life since he was 

released from prison in 1998 and maintained consistent employment. Although 

Morrison’s criminal history is “aged,” as the trial court found, neither that nor 

the fact he has been employed warrants a reduction from the advisory sentence.

We therefore affirm his sentence. 

[17] Affirmed.

Bailey, J., and Weissmann, J., concur.