Opinion ID: 2275002
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Documents Showing Two Prior Convictions for Indecency With Child Younger Than Seventeen

Text: Kelley also contends that the circuit court abused its discretion in admitting the certified documentary proof of his two prior convictions for indecency with a child younger than seventeen years. The crux of Kelley's argument is that the State's exhibits lacked any facts or details concerning the victims or circumstances of the two prior offenses, such that the circuit court was unable to perform an analysis of the applicability of the pedophile exception. We agree. As stated above, this court has consistently held that two requirements must be met for the pedophile exception to apply: there must be a sufficient degree of similarity between the evidence to be introduced and the sexual conduct of the defendant, and there must be an intimate relationship between the defendant and the victim of the prior act. Eubanks, supra, at 4. The evidence admitted herein simply fails to satisfy these two basic requirements. The copies of the Texas judgments entered during the State's case-in-chief do not identify the victims, nor do they provide their ages and genders (other than the fact that they were under the age of seventeen). In fact, it is not clear from the judgments whether the two separate convictions involved the same or different victims. The judgments do not indicate whether Kelley was related to the victims or whether they lived in his household. Moreover, they provide no insight into the circumstances of the alleged indecency. The specific type of abuse alleged is unknown, and there is no comment on Kelley's conduct before or after the alleged abuse. In short, the circuit court could not have evaluated the circumstances and determined whether the two requirements were met by looking at the judgments. The documents admitted during the sentencing phase provided no further aid. Some insight into the two prior convictions may be gained by reviewing the Texas statute under which Kelley was convicted. While the documents do not state the applicable statutory section, Kelley appears to have been convicted in both cases of indecency with a child in accordance with Section 21.11 of the Texas Penal Code. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 21.11 (amended 1987). [2] At the time of Kelley's two prior offenses, Section 21.11 provided that a person commits an offense if, with a child younger than seventeen years and not his spouse, whether the child is of the same or opposite sex, he engages in sexual contact with the child, or he exposes his anus or any part of his genitals, knowing the child is present, with intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person. See id. In both of the prior cases, Kelley was convicted of third-degree indecency with a child younger than seventeen, which, according to the statute, involved exposing the anus or any part of the genitals, knowing the child was present, with intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person. See id. § (d). [3] Even in light of this statute, it was impossible for the circuit court to determine whether the pedophile exception was applicable in this case. The statute reveals only that Kelley's prior victims were younger than seventeen years and not his spouse, and that he exposed his anus or any part of his genitals, knowing they were present, with the intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person. Thus, it is possible that one or both victims were female and either much younger or much older than M.M. It is also possible that Kelley did not engage in either masturbation or oral sex with either or both victims, only exposing himself while knowing they were present. In accordance with the evidence that was presented to the circuit court, it is conceivable that neither requirement for the application of the pedophile exception was satisfied. A review of our prior cases interpreting and applying the pedophile exception reveals that we have never allowed evidence similar to what was presented here. In 1994, this court upheld a circuit court's ruling allowing the State to introduce, in its case-in-chief on a charge of rape, four prior convictions for sexual offenses. Greenlee v. State, 318 Ark. 191, 197, 884 S.W.2d 947, 950 (1994). Two of the convictions were for indecent exposure, while the other two were for lewd molestation. Id. However, it was clear that all four of the prior offenses were committed against five-year-old boys who were entrusted to the appellant for babysitting care, as was the victim of the charged rape. Id. We allowed the evidence pursuant to the pedophile exception, noting as follows: Appellant committed the prior offenses against young children, just as he was accused of doing in this case, and in committing the prior offenses, he was successful in luring the children into his lair by baby-sitting, just as he was accused of doing in this case. Id. The circuit court in Greenlee obviously had access to details about the prior offenses and victims that were evaluated in determining the admissibility of the evidence. Therefore, the facts are distinguishable from those at issue here. In a similar case, this court affirmed a circuit court's ruling allowing the State to admit proof that the appellant had pleaded guilty to the crime of carnal abuse of his six-year-old stepdaughter eleven years prior to his trial for the rape of his daughter. Mosley v. State, 325 Ark. 469, 929 S.W.2d 693 (1996). While it appears from the opinion that the prior victim did not testify at the appellant's trial, the circuit court was nonetheless able to conduct a pedophile-exception analysis. We held that [t]he trial court considered both the similarity of the prior conviction to the current charges of rape and incest and the parental relationship of Mosley with both of the victims and correctly applied Rule 404(b). Id. at 473, 929 S.W.2d at 695. In other words, because the identity of the prior victim was known, the circuit court was able to determine whether the required intimate relationship was present. Conversely, the circuit court in the instant case was not privy to such information. In 2004, this court reversed a rape conviction on the basis that the circuit court had abused its discretion in allowing the State to introduce hearsay evidence that the appellant had raped another child. Hanlin v. State, 356 Ark. 516, 157 S.W.3d 181 (2004). The evidence consisted of an unsworn written statement made by the child to Alabama authorities, in which she disclosed that the appellant had informed her that he had engaged in sexual intercourse with the victim. Id. at 521-23, 157 S.W.3d at 184-86. The child's statement included an allegation that the appellant had raped her as well. Id. at 524, 157 S.W.3d at 186. On appeal, the appellant argued that the statement was highly prejudicial, considering the fact that the child was not present in the courtroom and subject to cross-examination and that he was never charged with her rape. Id. at 526, 157 S.W.3d at 187. He also maintained that the statement was admitted merely to prove bad character and to bolster the State's case against him. Id. He objected in accordance with Arkansas Rules of Evidence 403 and 801, claiming the statement was unsworn and offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. Id. This court held that the circuit court had abused its discretion, noting that the statement was double or even triple hearsay and that the effect of it was to label Hanlin as a person of bad character who had engaged in similar activity previously, such that it was inadmissible under Rule 404(b). Id. at 528, 157 S.W.3d at 188-89. We took note of the pedophile exception but declined to apply it because the State had not raised it before the circuit court or on appeal. Id. at 528-29, 157 S.W.3d at 189. We stated as follows: Our decision not to raise the pedophile exception, sua sponte, is bolstered by the fact that we have before us no direct proof establishing that the rape of S.M. occurred in Alabama. In cases where this court has applied the pedophile exception, the other victims typically testified at trial about the defendant's actions, or there was other direct proof of those offenses. But here, all that was presented at trial was the unsworn statement of S.M. taken by Alabama authorities and relayed to Detective Harper, which is triple hearsay. The Alabama statement is not even part of the record in this case but was simply conveyed to the jury through the testimony of Detective Harper. Sufficient proof of the rape of S.M. was, therefore, lacking. Id. at 529-30, 157 S.W.3d at 189-90 (internal citations omitted). As we indicated in Hanlin, witness testimony is usually required. This court has permitted evidence under the pedophile exception without witness testimony when the appellant admits to a prior bad act in a custodial statement. For example, in McDuffy v. State, 359 Ark. 180, 196 S.W.3d 12 (2004), the appellant was charged with the rape of a thirteen-year-old boy, in the form of both oral and anal sex. During an interview with law enforcement after a waiver of his Miranda rights, the appellant confessed to engaging in oral and anal sex with another thirteen-year-old boy. Id. at 184, 196 S.W.3d at 14. In its review of potentially prejudicial rulings pursuant to Arkansas Supreme Court Rule 4-3(h), this court considered whether the admission of this statement at the appellant's trial was erroneous. Id. at 189, 196 S.W.3d at 17. We held that there was no abuse of discretion in accordance with the pedophile exception, concluding that the court accepted the testimony for the limited purpose of showing proclivity. Id. Similarly, in Swift v. State, 363 Ark. 496, 215 S.W.3d 619 (2005), the appellant was charged with the rape of his minor son and challenged the admission of an audiotape of his custodial statement in which he admitted touching the vagina of his niece on three occasions. As in McDuffy, however, there was evidence about the prior bad act available to the circuit court: She was seven or eight years old at the time of the abuse. On the tape, the appellant stated that he touched K.N.'s vagina with his hand and that K.N. touched his penis and masturbated him to ejaculation. After the third incident, the appellant told K.N. not to tell anyone about the events. Id. at 499, 215 S.W.3d at 621. This court affirmed the circuit court's ruling, noting various similarities between the charged conduct and the admission regarding the niece: both victims shared close familial relationships with the appellant, they were similar in age at the time of the abuse, and, in each instance, the appellant instructed the child not to tell anyone about the abuse. Id. at 499-500, 215 S.W.3d at 622. In both McDuffy and Swift, an analysis of the pedophile-exception requirements was possible, despite the fact that witness testimony was not offered. No such analysis was possible here, where the circuit court knew nothing about Kelley's prior victims or the circumstances of their abuse. The State nonetheless maintains that the documentary evidence of Kelley's two prior convictions was admissible under the pedophile exception, citing to this court's opinion in Flanery v. State, supra . In Flanery, this court affirmed a circuit court's ruling allowing Rule 404(b) evidence pursuant to the pedophile exception despite the fact that the allegations of the victim of the charged rape included oral sex and sexual intercourse, while the Rule 404(b) witness alleged only inappropriate touching. 362 Ark. at 313, 208 S.W.3d at 189. The State contends that this case stands for the proposition that the similarity of the two acts is not controlling and that the relevant inquiry is whether the evidence shows a proclivity for inappropriate conduct with victims sharing a common trait. However, this court's opinion in Flanery clearly reiterated the frequently stated rule that, for the pedophile exception to apply, the acts must be sufficiently similar. Id. at 314-15, 208 S.W.3d at 189-90. We also set forth a list of the similarities between the charged conduct and the witness's testimony, holding that the admission of the testimony was not an abuse of discretion [i]n light of the similarities in age and presence of the victims in the same household[.] Id. at 315, 208 S.W.3d at 190. The State also cites to Hernandez v. State, supra , in which, as in Flanery, the victim's and witness's allegations differed with respect to the type of abuse. We held that, despite this difference, the pedophile exception seems especially applicable in view of the evidence that Mr. Hernandez was attracted to the physical characteristics of young girls and the evidence that Mr. Hernandez attempted to offer both the victim and the witness gifts in exchange for sexual favors. 331 Ark. at 308, 962 S.W.2d at 760. Other similarities were present as well. Id. The State seems to suggest that the evidence at issue here was admissible because it was helpful in showing that Kelley was attracted to the physical characteristics of young boys; however, the fact remains that the age and gender of Kelley's prior victims are unknown. Therefore, the Hernandez decision provides no support for the State's position. Because the documentary evidence showing Kelley's two prior convictions provides no information that would have allowed the circuit court to conduct a pedophile-exception analysis, we hold that the admission of this evidence was an abuse of discretion. However, we affirm Kelley's conviction and sentence because the error was harmless. We have held that, even when a circuit court errs in admitting evidence, we may declare the error harmless and affirm when the evidence of guilt is overwhelming and the error is slight. Buford v. State, 368 Ark. 87, 91, 243 S.W.3d 300, 303 (2006). To determine if the error is slight, we can look to see if the defendant was prejudiced. Id. This court has consistently held that the uncorroborated testimony of a child-rape victim is sufficient evidence to sustain a conviction. White v. State, 367 Ark. 595, 600, 242 S.W.3d 240, 245 (2006). Here, M.M. testified to the rapes. In addition to that evidence, S.J. testified to remarkably similar conduct on the part of Kelley. Moreover, the jury heard recordings of Kelley's telephone calls made from the jail, in which he is heard attempting to secure M.M.'s unavailability on the date of trial. Kelley's statements during those calls clearly demonstrate his consciousness of guilt. Thus, the evidence of his guilt was overwhelming. In addition, any risk of prejudice resulting from the admission of the documentary evidence was slight. Kelley did not receive the maximum sentence of life imprisonment, and the evidence of his two prior convictions would have been admitted during the sentencing phase to establish his status as a habitual offender. For these reasons, we declare the error harmless and affirm Kelley's conviction and sentence. [4] Affirmed. HANNAH, C.J., dissents.