Opinion ID: 1059908
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Horton v. Commonwealth

Text: On February 6, 1996, H.H., [1] age 12, was asleep in her bedroom. She was alone in the house because her parents were at work. At approximately 1:48 a.m., H.H. awoke to find someone standing at the door of her bedroom. Initially, H.H. thought it was her father, but she realized it was not when she looked at her clock and saw the time. H.H. testified that as the man approached her, she could see that he was wearing what she described as a hunting mask which left his eyes, nose and mouth uncovered. When the man came closer to her, H.H. started kicking and screaming, and the man sprayed something in her eyes or face that burned. When the man realized that she could still see, he sprayed her again. However, before spraying her the second time, he had removed his mask, and H.H. recognized the man as Thomas E. Horton, Sr., her neighbor. Even before seeing his face, H.H. had recognized Horton's voice. Horton then handcuffed H.H.'s wrists together, pulled down her purple jogging shorts, pulled up her shirt, and got on top of her. Horton had also pulled down his pants. Asserting that she knew the words for the parts of the body because of a Family Life course she took at school, H.H. said she felt his penis on the inside of her leg and described how Horton spread her legs apart, pulled up her shirt, and licked [her] boobs. When asked if Horton tried to do anything else, H.H. stated that he tried [to] get his penis in my vagina, but he was unable to do so. H.H. then testified as follows: Q. Did he do anything else to your vagina?
Q. He licked it? A. Yes. Q. With his tongue? A. Yes. When H.H. told Horton she needed to go to the bathroom, he removed the handcuffs and allowed her to go. However, Horton accompanied her to the bathroom and forced her to wash. H.H. testified that upon their return to the bedroom, Horton threatened to kill her if she told her parents. He finally departed around 2:30 a.m. H.H. did not telephone the 911 emergency number for help because she was afraid that Horton had remained somewhere on the premises. H.H. told her parents about the incident when they returned home at approximately 5:00 a.m. The police were notified shortly thereafter. A.C. Powers of the Augusta County Sheriff's Department investigated the incident. He recovered an empty condom pack and a condom wrapper on the floor of H.H.'s bedroom. Since H.H. identified her assailant as Horton, Powers went to Horton's residence. He subsequently searched Horton's truck and residence where he found a mask matching the one described by H.H., handcuffs, a canister of pepper spray, and two unused condoms. At trial, Horton moved to strike the Commonwealth's evidence on the basis that there was insufficient proof of penetration to support the sodomy charge. He renewed this motion at the close of all the evidence. The trial court overruled the motions, and the jury found Horton guilty of forcible sodomy. [2] On October 29, 1996, the trial court denied Horton's motion to set aside the verdict and entered judgment on the jury's verdict. Horton then filed a petition for appeal in the Court of Appeals of Virginia, which both a single judge and a three-judge panel denied. Horton appeals.