Opinion ID: 1450946
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: Finally, Mr. Perry argues the trial court erroneously overruled his motion for judgment of acquittal at the close of the evidence because the evidence was insufficient to support a guilty verdict. He asserts the state failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he touched Victim for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire because no evidence was presented showing he had either a verbal or physical reaction to the contact. Generally, in assessing whether a touching is for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire rather than being an innocent touching, a fact-finder looks at the circumstances of the particular case. State v. Morton, 229 S.W.3d 626, 630 (Mo.App. S.D.2007). Since the purpose of an actor's action must be determined from his mental state, and because direct evidence of a person's mental state is rarely available, the actor's mental state will often rest on circumstantial evidence and permissible inferences. Id. Here, there was evidence from Victim, both at trial and in her pretrial statements to Mother, Stepfather and the forensic interviewer that showed Mr. Perry had engaged in sexual contact. Sometime after the incident, Victim told Mother and Stepfather that Mr. Perry had touched her vagina with his foot. Further, during the videotaped interview with the forensic interviewer, Victim discussed how Mr. Perry had touched her with his foot under her nightgown through her underwear. She also described how he had rubbed her vagina in a circular motion. Mr. Perry asserts the contact was innocent and was not intended for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire. He claims to have been awakened from sleep by Victim moving up and down on his foot. In support, he notes that he had a conversation with Stepfather about the contact and told Stepfather he was uncomfortable with it. The jury could have believed Mr. Perry's explanations, but it did not have to do so. His behavior in hiding the conduct by fabricating a story and admitting something had happened that he thought was sexual shows he was aware of the inappropriate nature of the contact. The jury reasonably could have found that his attempted explanation false and that the false story showed consciousness of guilt rather than innocence. In light of Victim's testimony and her consistent telling of the story, a reasonable juror could have found Mr. Perry guilty of first-degree child molestation beyond a reasonable doubt.