Opinion ID: 1819311
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Sexual Battery Claim

Text: Hitchcock argues that his resentencing counsel was ineffective for not arguing that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the aggravating factor that the murder was committed during the commission of a sexual battery because any sexual battery that may have occurred was completed prior to the murder. Hitchcock also argues that his resentencing counsel was ineffective for not requesting a jury instruction explaining the elements of sexual battery. The circuit court correctly noted that [t]here is no requirement that the murder must occur at the exact same time as the underlying felony for the murder in the course of a felony aggravating factor to be applicable. See Bogle v. State, 655 So.2d 1103, 1108 (Fla.1995) (affirming finding of sexual battery aggravating factor, despite the lack of conviction for sexual battery, on basis of medical examiner testimony that sexual activity occurred within three hours of victim's death). In this case, the medical examiner who testified at Hitchcock's resentencing estimated that the victim's hymen tear occurred a few hours before the death of the victim. At one point, he testified that the tear could have occurred as recently as a half hour before the murder. Hitchcock is wrong to suggest that the time of the hymen tear can identify the time the sexual battery ended. The hymen tear could have occurred at the beginning of the sexual assault, and there was no testimony indicating how long the sexual assault lasted. Thus, Hitchcock's claim that his resentencing counsel was ineffective for not arguing that the aggravating factor was inapplicable because any sexual battery was completed prior to the murder is without merit. [17] The circuit court also found that resentencing counsel was not deficient for failing to object to the trial court's instructions regarding this aggravating factor or for failing to request a special instruction that would have required the jury to determine whether a sexual battery actually occurred. We agree that counsel was not deficient for failing to object to the aggravating factor instruction. This Court held in Hitchcock I that there was sufficient evidence of a sexual battery to warrant an instruction on murder in the course of a felony. 413 So.2d at 745. The record likewise contains sufficient evidence that the murder was committed during the commission of a sexual battery to warrant giving an instruction on that aggravating factor. We do agree with Hitchcock's argument that our case law supports that the jury be instructed regarding the elements of sexual battery. This Court explained in Occhicone v. State, 570 So.2d 902, 906 (Fla.1990), that the elements of the underlying felony should be explained to the jury where the State argues that the aggravating factor of the murder being committed during the course of an enumerated felony applies. However, the Court also held in Occhicone that failing to instruct the jury on the elements of the underlying felony was not fundamental error where there were other valid aggravating circumstances. Id. The Court further explained that the lack of instruction is harmless error where the State proves the underlying felony beyond a reasonable doubt: Speculating that Occhicone's jury may have relied on one word without knowing its specific legal definition is of no moment here because the judge as the sentencer must make written findings supporting the sentence. We must assume that the instant judge knew the technical definition of burglary, and the facts support his finding the mother's murder to have been committed during a burglary. Id. (footnote omitted). Here, Hitchcock was not prejudiced by his counsel's failure to request an instruction on sexual battery because the record supports the trial judge's finding that the aggravating factor that the murder was committed during the commission of a sexual battery was proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Thus, our confidence in the jury's recommendation and the trial court's Sentencing Order is not diminished by counsel's failure to request an instruction detailing the elements of sexual battery.