Opinion ID: 2219373
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Admissions and Confessions.

Text: The key evidence at trial was the admissions and confessions of Capper and the testimony of the children, K.V. and N.S. Capper argues his confessions were not corroborated and that the children's testimony was inconsistent, self-contradictory, and lacking in detail. He urges the children's testimony was so lacking in credibility that it would not corroborate the confessions or support the guilty verdicts. See State v. Smith, 508 N.W.2d 101, 103-04 (Iowa App.1993). The admissions and confessions arose from two interviews of Capper prior to the filing of the criminal charges against him. The first interview was conducted on January 25, 1993 by Deputy Sheriff John Griffin along a road near Capper's lake cabin. The interview lasted approximately fifteen minutes. Griffin testified he told Capper he wanted to visit with him concerning reports of sexual abuse of K.V. and N.S. Capper admitted he was with the girls at his cabin at the lake, he had touched the girls in the breast and vagina area, and he had shown them sexually explicit movies. He wrote and signed a statement: I did do some of this, no intercourse, played with them only. Touched there brests and vagina. The second interview was conducted on February 5 in the sheriff's office. Griffin asked Capper to come to the office to be interviewed by him and a child abuse investigator from the department of human services, Rebecca Burke. Capper voluntarily came to the office and was questioned by both Burke and Griffin. The interview lasted approximately thirty minutes. Griffin taped the interview and later transcribed the taped conversation. A copy of the transcript was provided to Capper prior to trial. Both Burke and Griffin testified as to admissions and confessions made by Capper and their observations of him during the interview. In addition the seven-page transcript was identified as an exhibit and admitted as evidence during the trial. We have recognized a distinction between a confession and an admission. State v. Davis, 212 Iowa 131, 134, 235 N.W. 759, 761 (1931). [A] confession comprises the whole criminal charge; whereas an admission relates only to a particular fact or circumstance covered thereby. Id. To constitute a confession the admissions or declarations must amount to an acknowledgement of the guilt of the offense charged. State v. Abrams, 131 Iowa 479, 484, 108 N.W. 1041, 1043 (1906). The trial court treated Capper's admissions as a confession and instructed the jury the confession of a defendant will not warrant a conviction unless accompanied with other proof that the defendant committed the offense. See Iowa R.Crim. P. 20(4). The existence of corroborative evidence is a question of law for the court; its sufficiency is ordinarily for the jury. Liggins, 524 N.W.2d at 187. Corroboration need not be strong nor need it go to the whole case so long as it confirms some material fact connecting the defendant with the crime. State v. White, 319 N.W.2d 213, 214 (Iowa 1982). From our review of the record, we find corroborative evidence was presented at trial. Corroboration of the testimony of a victim is not required. Iowa R.Crim. P. 20(3). In determining the sufficiency of the evidence we consider each count separately.