Opinion ID: 3153639
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Home Invasion and Sexual Assault

Text: On November 30, 2001, at approximately 6:30 a.m., Mrs. L.L.2 of Clarksburg, West Virginia, awoke in the bedroom of her home and saw an intruder standing beside her bed. The intruder was a white male, and Mrs. L. was an eighty-three-year-old widow who lived alone. Her bedroom was on the second floor of her two-story home. Brandishing a large knife and a flashlight, the intruder said, “This is a robbery, I need your money.” Mrs. 1 This Court expresses appreciation for the brief of Amici Curiae, former state and federal prosecutors, in support of the Petitioner. 2 Consistent with this Court’s practice in cases involving sensitive matters, only the initials of the victim will be used in this opinion. See W.Va. R. App. P. 40; State v. Shrewsbury, 213 W.Va. 327, 331 n.1, 582 S.E.2d 774, 778 n.1 (2003). 1 L. responded by informing the intruder that her money was on the first floor. The intruder then forced her to get out of bed and accompany him down the stairs, through the hallway, and into the kitchen. Mrs. L. gave him all the cash from her purse, totaling nine dollars. He then took Mrs. L. back upstairs to search for more money. He informed her that he had “been here before.” The intruder sexually assaulted Mrs. L. when they returned to the bedroom, penetrating her vaginally from behind three times and forcing her to perform oral sex on him twice. He subsequently tied her hands behind her back, told her not to call anyone for twenty minutes, and departed. Twenty minutes later, Mrs. L. freed herself and telephoned her son, a Clarksburg police officer. Three police officers responded to the call and transported Mrs. L. to the hospital. Mrs. L. was interviewed by a sexual assault nurse at the hospital. In this interview, Mrs. L. described the crime in detail, explaining that the assailant had not worn a condom and may have ejaculated. In response to the nurse’s question “[w]ere there multiple assailants,” Mrs. L. answered, “no.” Although she was described to be in “mild distress,” Mrs. L. was considered alert and lucid during that interview. 2 Later that day, at approximately 1:40 p.m., Mrs. L. provided a detailed, tape-recorded statement to the police. In that statement, she reiterated details of the robbery and assault, explaining she had awakened to find a man standing beside her bed demanding money. The statement she provided to the police was almost identical to that provided to the nurse. Mrs. L. again related the circumstances of the robbery and assault, stating that the intruder took her back upstairs after they searched for money and demanded that she undress and “get down there beside the bed on [her] knees.” Mrs. L described her assailant as a white male “in the 25 [-year-old] area.” She indicated that he was wearing blue jeans with a light colored t-shirt and that his face was partially hidden by a white bandana.