Opinion ID: 612544
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Incest and Sexual Abuse in Foust's Home

Text: In 1988, when Foust was 11 years old, Amy found Gary Jr. raping Julie. App'x Vol. 3 at 1209 (Amy Aff. ¶ 11). Foust and Jeremy also heard them having sex. Id. at 1223 (Jeremy Aff. ¶ 8). Several of the siblings informed Barbara and the case went to Juvenile Court. Id. at 1209 (Amy Aff. ¶ 11). However, the charges were dropped after Barbara made Julie change her story, Gary Jr. threatened Julie with a gun, and Gary Jr. kicked Barbara in the stomach in front of all of the children. Id. at 1209 (Amy Aff. ¶ 11). Later, Amy also became a victim of sexual abuse in the Fousts' home. Jeremy molested Amy beginning when Amy was 10 years old. Id. at 1210 (Amy Aff. ¶ 15). When Amy sought help, her mother slapped [her] ... for reporting the abuse. Id. In addition, Gary Jr. pulled a gun on Amy, telling her that he would not hesitate to shoot her if she tried to report the abuse again. Id. Amy escaped the Foust home by running away to a shelter. She spent the rest of [her] teenage years in residential children's centers, psychiatric hospitals, and foster care. Id. at 1211 (Amy Aff. ¶ 16). During a home visit in 1994, however, Amy woke up with Jeremy on top of [her,] trying to rape [her] with a knife to [her] throat. Id. (Amy Aff. ¶ 18); see also id. at 1064 (Hotline Referral Form). Julie, who awoke to Amy's screams, witnessed the assault. Amy attempted suicide after the attack. We conclude that the evidence about sexual abuse in Foust's home is a new subject matter that was not addressed at the mitigation hearing. At that hearing, Karpawich testified that Foust experienced violence throughout his upbringing, which has an impact on the way he would interact with other people, especially women. App'x Vol. 7 at 2648 (Karpawich Test.). However, Karpawich never mentioned that the cause may have been sexual abuse to which Foust was exposed. [9] Although the victims of the sexual abuse were Foust's sisters, Foust's acclimation to sexual abuse of women is particularly relevant because rape was one of the aggravating circumstances that supported the death penalty. Foust, 823 N.E.2d at 868-69; cf. Phillips v. Bradshaw, 607 F.3d 199, 217-19 & n. 2 (6th Cir.2010) (finding that evidence about sexual abuse of the petitioner's siblings  of which Phillips apparently was unaware  and speculation about sexual abuse of the petitioner had no specific causal nexus to the petitioner's rape of a helpless toddler), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 131 S.Ct. 1605, 179 L.Ed.2d 506 (2011).