Opinion ID: 2598039
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Is Morningstar's conviction valid?

Text: Morningstar argues his agespecifically, whether he was 18 years of age or older at the time the rape was committedis an element of rape under K.S.A. 21-3502(a)(2) and under the enhanced sentencing provisions under K.S.A. 21-4643(a)(1). He argues there was insufficient evidence to convict him because the State did not introduce any evidence that he was 18 years of age or older. The State does not contest Morningstar's claim that it did not introduce evidence regarding Morningstar's age during trial. Similarly, Morningstar does not dispute he was 18 years of age or older. The complaint listed Morningstar's year of birth as 1985. In his financial affidavit requesting a court-appointed attorney, Morningstar wrote he was born on June 24, 1985, making him 21 years old at the time of the offense. Therefore, the issues regarding defendant's age are: (1) whether his age is an element of rape under K.S.A. 21-3502(a)(2); and (2) whether his age must be proven to the jury in order to sentence him under Jessica's Law in accordance with the dictates of Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000). Because these questions concern statutory and constitutional interpretation, our review is unlimited. Bello, 288 Kan. at ___, 211 P.3d at 142; State v. Storey, 286 Kan. 7, 9-10, 179 P.3d 1137 (2008) (statutory interpretation is a question of law subject to de novo review); State v. Allen, 283 Kan. 372, 374, 153 P.3d 488 (2007) (constitutionality of sentencing statute is a question of law subject to unlimited review). Morningstar was convicted of rape under K.S.A. 21-3502(a)(2). The statute provides in pertinent part: (a) Rape is: .... (2) sexual intercourse with a child who is under 14 years of age; .... (c) Except as provided further, rape as described in subsection (a)(1) or (2) is a severity level 1, person felony. Rape as described in subsection (a)(2), when the offender is 18 years of age or older, is an off-grid person felony. (Emphasis added.) K.S.A. 21-3501(1) defines sexual intercourse as any penetration of the female sex organ by a finger, the male sex organ or any object. Any penetration, however slight, is sufficient to constitute sexual intercourse. The sentences for off-grid crimes are set forth in K.S.A. 21-4706, which provides in relevant part: (d) As identified in K.S.A .... 21-3502,... and amendments thereto, if the offender is 18 years of age or older and the victim is under 14 years of age, such violations are off-grid crimes for the purposes of sentencing. Except as provided in K.S.A. 21-4642, and amendments thereto, the sentence shall be imprisonment for life pursuant to K.S.A. 21-4643, and amendments thereto. (Emphasis added.) Morningstar was sentenced under K.S.A. 21-4643(a)(1), which states: [A] defendant who is 18 years of age or older and is convicted of the following crimes committed on or after July 1, 2006, shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment for life with a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of not less than 25 years.... .... (B) rape, as defined in subsection (a)(2) of K.S.A. 21-3502, and amendments thereto. The same crime-defining statutory structure was addressed recently in Bello, 288 Kan. at ___, 211 P.3d at 144. In Bello, the defendant was convicted of aggravated criminal sodomy under K.S.A. 21-3506 and aggravated indecent liberties with a child under K.S.A. 21-3504. This court noted each of those statutes set forth two separate severity levels of the offense applicable to the acts the defendant committed: one a KSGA nondrug grid box offense and the other an off-grid offense. 288 Kan. at ___, 211 P.3d at 144. The court reasoned: The determination of which offense applies turns on whether the offender was age 18 or older when committing the criminal act. The structure of the crime-defining statutes here is akin to that of the theft statute, K.S.A. 21-3701, which describes varying levels of offenses based upon the additional fact of the stolen property's value. See State v. Stephens, 263 Kan. 658, Syl. ¶ 2, 953 P.2d 1373 (1998) (degree of a theft crime determined by the value of the property stolen); State v. Piland, 217 Kan. 689, Syl. ¶ 3, 538 P.2d 666 (1975) (where value of stolen property is in issue, trial court should instruct the jury with respect to the element of value and require a jury finding as to value). Thus, while K.S.A. 21-4643 reiterates the age factor which elevates the sentence for aggravated criminal sodomy or aggravated indecent liberties with a child to a hard 25 life sentence, that severity-enhancing factor is initially identified in the statutes defining the respective crimes. 288 Kan. at ___, 211 P.3d at 144. Similarly, the express terms of K.S.A. 21-3502(a)(2) contain two elements of rape: (1) sexual intercourse; and (2) with a child who is under 14 years of age. The defendant's age is not an element under this statute. It is the enhanced sentencing statute, K.S.A. 21-4643, that requires the additional factual determination about the defendant's age before a court may impose a life sentence. Accordingly, the Bello court's logic is applicable to Morningstar's conviction for rape of a child under 14 years of age. Omitting the defendant's age from a complaint or from jury instructions does not eliminate the existence of the crime of rape of a child under 14 years of age or invalidate a criminal conviction for that offense. But the severity level for the offense is the applicable KSGA severity level stated in K.S.A. 21-3502(c) rather than an off-grid offense. Morningstar's conviction for rape of a child under 14 years of age is valid.