Opinion ID: 1404274
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Statutory Rape Sentence

Text: The trial court also found abuse of a position of trust to justify an exceptional sentence for the statutory rape conviction. The Court of Appeals affirmed. Grewe, 59 Wn. App. at 148. Defendant challenges this conclusion and argues his relationship with the victim was insufficient to establish a position of trust. [5] Defendant's challenge asks for a factual determination. Therefore, we apply a clearly erroneous standard to the trial court's findings. State v. Nordby, 106 Wn.2d 514, 517-18, 723 P.2d 1117 (1986). We will reverse the trial court's findings only if no substantial evidence supports its conclusion. Burba v. Vancouver, 113 Wn.2d 800, 807, 783 P.2d 1056 (1989). [6] The two factors to be considered in determining whether defendant abused a sufficient position of trust to merit an exceptional sentence are the duration and the degree of the relationship. Fisher, 108 Wn.2d at 427. In Fisher, the defendant sexually assaulted a 5 1/2-year-old boy who asked the defendant to accompany him to the rest room. The victim testified that either his father or mother usually accompanied him to the rest room. Fisher, 108 Wn.2d at 427. However, the victim met the defendant only a few days prior to the incident while swimming in the pool at his grandparents' trailer court. We concluded that whether the evidence was sufficient to find the defendant had abused a position of trust was a close question. Fisher, 108 Wn.2d at 427. Although we never settled that question, we did suggest,  A relationship extending over a longer period of time, or one within the same household, would indicate a more significant trust relationship, such that the offender's abuse of that relationship would be a more substantial reason for imposing an exceptional sentence. Fisher, 108 Wn.2d at 427. In this case, the victim had known defendant for approximately 4 months prior to the crime. Furthermore, during that time, the victim was a frequent visitor in defendant's home where she played with defendant's computer and piano. Therefore, the relationship here exceeded that in Fisher. Based on our dicta in Fisher, this record presents substantial evidence to support the trial court's finding defendant abused a position of trust. Our conclusion is consistent with previous decisions from the Court of Appeals. While we have considered the evidence necessary to establish a position of trust only once, the Court of Appeals has considered the question several times. In one of the first cases to consider abuse of a position of trust as an aggravating factor in a noneconomic setting, Division One of the Court of Appeals adopted a very broad, inclusive standard. The court concluded a position of trust did not require a degree of trust significantly greater than that involved in the usual social or business relationship. State v. Jackmon, 55 Wn. App. 562, 568, 778 P.2d 1079 (1989). More recently, the Court of Appeals has guarded against attempts to render the definition of a position of trust overly inclusive. The most significant of these cases for our purposes is State v. Brown, 60 Wn. App. 60, 802 P.2d 803 (1990), review denied, 116 Wn.2d 1025 (1991). Brown involved review of an assault conviction sentence in which the Court of Appeals refused to find a sufficient relationship of trust between an 11-year-old boy and his father. The court interpreted our decisions in Pryor, 115 Wn.2d at 451 and Fisher, 108 Wn.2d at 427 as well as Harp, 43 Wn. App. at 343, to focus on the trust relationship between the primary care giver and the perpetrator  to whom the child's care was entrusted. Brown, 60 Wn. App. at 74-76. Therefore, the court concluded the only position of trust relevant to exceptional sentences in crimes perpetrated by adults against children is that between the perpetrator and the primary care giver who entrusts the child's care to the perpetrator, not the trust relationship between the child victim and the perpetrator. We disagree. [7] While we share the Court of Appeals' belief not every crime committed by a parent against a child involves an abuse of a position of trust, we do not approve of the court's exclusive focus on the trust between the primary care giver and the adult perpetrator. Although the trust between the primary care giver and the perpetrator may also give rise to a trust relationship subject to abuse, that relationship is secondary to the trust between the perpetrator and the child victim. It is the trust between the perpetrator and the victim which renders the victim particularly vulnerable to the crime. See State v. Shephard, 53 Wn. App. 194, 199, 766 P.2d 467 (1988) (discussed in Brown, 60 Wn. App. at 75). [8] Defendant also cites State v. Stuhr, 58 Wn. App. 660, 794 P.2d 1297 (1990) and State v. Campas, 59 Wn. App. 561, 799 P.2d 744 (1990) to argue the relationship here was insufficient to establish a position of trust. In Stuhr, the court refused to find a position of trust where defendant was living in the home of his 80-year-old, legally blind victim. The court concluded: If we were to conclude that this tenuous, transient relationship equates with enjoying a position of trust and confidence, it is difficult to say where the line could be drawn. Stuhr, 58 Wn. App. at 663. Similarly, in Campas, the court refused to find a position of trust where the defendant met the victim in a bar on the night of the crime and later murdered the victim when the victim took the defendant to her home. Campas, 59 Wn. App. at 567. The State argues with substantial merit that the defendant's  4-month relationship with the victim here exceeded that in either Stuhr or Campas. However, the element which truly distinguishes this case is the victim's age. The case law of this state consistently acknowledges children as among the most vulnerable members of society. Fisher, 108 Wn.2d at 424; Brown, 55 Wn. App. at 753-54. One aspect of children's extreme vulnerability is their tendency to trust. See Shephard, 53 Wn. App. at 199. Arguably, defendant preyed upon this tendency by luring the victim into his house to play with his piano and computer, thereby establishing a relationship of trust. We cannot say the trial court's finding that defendant abused a position of trust when he committed the attempted statutory rape was clearly erroneous. Therefore, the Court of Appeals must be affirmed on this issue. Although we have approved the aggravating factors challenged here, the Court of Appeals also determined the trial court improperly considered three uncharged crimes in imposing the exceptional sentence. Because of this, three of the seven findings of fact entered by the trial court to support the exceptional sentence were invalidated. Grewe, 59 Wn. App. at 146. The Court of Appeals remanded for resentencing on this basis alone. Grewe, 59 Wn. App. at 151. Neither party challenges this conclusion. Therefore, remand for resentencing is still required. DORE, C.J., and UTTER, BRACHTENBACH, ANDERSEN, DURHAM, SMITH, GUY, and JOHNSON, JJ., concur.