Opinion ID: 1554807
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Sexual Battery Convictions

Text: McWatters also argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal as to the sexual battery charges and that the evidence was not sufficient to support his convictions for sexual battery with great force or the first-degree murder convictions under the theory of felony murder based on sexual battery. Section 794.011(3), Florida Statutes (2004), provides in relevant part: A person who commits sexual battery upon a person 12 years of age or older, without that person's consent, and in the process thereof uses or threatens to use a deadly weapon or uses actual physical force likely to cause serious personal injury commits a life felony. McWatters admits having sexual intercourse with each woman but argues that no sexual battery occurred because the sexual activity was consensual. Even if we assume that the special standard of review for wholly circumstantial evidence cases applies here, we conclude that the evidence is inconsistent with any reasonable hypothesis of innocence. In discussing the aggravating factor of murder committed during the course of a felony, the trial court found that the physical evidence and the common scheme displayed across the homicides rebutted the suggestion that any of the victims consented. The trial court additionally found that even assuming each victim initially consented to having sex with McWatters, her consent would have been revoked at the moment he placed his hands around her neck to choke her to death. We agree with the trial court's conclusion that given the facts of this case, particularly the pattern of crimes, there is competent, substantial evidence refuting any reasonable hypothesis of innocence and supporting the jury's verdict. The events leading up to each of the sexual batteries and homicides in this case are similar to the events reviewed in Zack v. State, 753 So.2d 9, 17-18 (Fla.2000). Zack and his victim, Smith, met at a bar. They smoked marijuana together and later went to Smith's home. Zack claimed that after they had consensual sex, he and Smith argued, and he grabbed a knife in self-defense because he believed that she had gone to retrieve a gun. Zack argued that the trial court should have granted his motion for judgment of acquittal because the evidence was not inconsistent with his hypothesis of innocence. The Court held that the motion was properly denied because the evidence was inconsistent with Zack's claim that he and Smith had consensual sex. The Court explained that although there was evidence implying that Smith originally intended to engage in consensual intercourse with Zack, such evidence does not negate the expert's opinion, based on the blood evidence and the other physical evidence in the living room, that the assault began as soon as Smith and Zack entered the house. Id. at 18. The physical evidence included shards of glass, blood spray in the living room and on the door frame, and a trail of blood down the hallway. Id. at 14. In keeping with Zack, we conclude that there is competent, substantial evidence that Wiggins and Caughey were sexually battered. Wiggins may have gone into the woods with McWatters voluntarily, perhaps even intending to have sex with him. Nevertheless, the jury could have concluded from the disturbed dirt and her damaged undergarments that the sex was not in fact consensual. Similarly, while McWatters claimed that he took Caughey's pants and shoes off [a]ll willingly and the medical examiner found no lacerations or bruises in the vaginal area, the jury could have reasonably inferred that Caughey's clothes were not removed voluntarily in preparation for consensual sex. The evidence established that at the site where they had sex, Caughey's sandals were found approximately twelve feet apart and her jeans were stained with grass or dirt. While there was no evidence presented showing that a struggle occurred between McWatters and Bradley, there is evidence in the record refuting McWatters' claim that the sexual activity was consensual and supporting the jury's verdict on that count as well. Before admitting to being an acquaintance of Bradley and having sexual intercourse with her, McWatters repeatedly insisted that he was not with her on the night of her murder. Later, when asked about the circumstances of the killings in general, McWatters stated that the last thing [he] remember[ed] [was] having sex with [the victims] and [he] was on top of them. He agreed that he was literally in the process of having sex when he killed the women. The jury could have reasonably inferred that the defendant should have understood that any consent to sex given by the victims, including Bradley, was terminated when he began to choke them. The fact that each woman was killed during sexual intercoursewhich is based on McWatters' admissionis evidence supporting the finding that at some point, the sexual activity became nonconsensual. The Bradley sexual battery conviction is also supported by the evidence of a pattern of sexual batteries. While this Court has held that lack of consent may not be found based on evidence of collateral sexual batteries alone, evidence of a pattern of sexual batteries can be relevant to the issue of lack of consent. See Williams, 621 So.2d at 417 (holding that testimony concerning the other [sexual] encounters was relevant to rebut [the defendant's] defense that the complainant had consensual sex with him in exchange for drugs and stating that [t]he similar fact evidence tended to rebut the defense by showing a common plan or scheme). When the criminal pattern in this case is combined with McWatters' own statements and the expert opinion that the location of Bradley's body, state of her dress, and method of strangulation were consistent with sexual battery, competent, substantial evidence supported the jury's conclusion that McWatters' claim that Bradley consented to sexual intercourse was not worthy of belief. This evidence is inconsistent with any reasonable hypothesis of innocence. Accordingly, we find that McWatters' arguments regarding the sexual battery convictions fail.