Court Opinion

ID: 9386415
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-04-12 15:05:02.66296+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:18:06.255657
License: Public Domain

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA

                                  No. 22-1031
                              Filed April 12, 2023

STATE OF IOWA,
     Plaintiff-Appellee,

vs.

KENNETH ALBERT CREWS,
     Defendant-Appellant.
________________________________________________________________

      Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Des Moines County, Wyatt Peterson,

Judge.

      A defendant appeals his convictions for two counts of lascivious acts with a

child. AFFIRMED.

      Raya D. Dimitrova of Carr Law Firm, P.L.C., Des Moines, for appellant.

      Brenna Bird, Attorney General, and Zachary Miller, Assistant Attorney

General, for appellee.

      Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Greer and Chicchelly, JJ.
                                          2

CHICCHELLY, Judge.

       Kenneth Crews appeals his convictions for two counts of lascivious acts

with a child, in violation of Iowa Code section 709.8(1) (2021). He alleges there

was insufficient evidence to support the guilty verdicts and the district court abused

its discretion in selecting a jury instruction on implicit bias. We affirm because

substantial evidence supports the verdicts and the district court did not abuse its

discretion.

I.     Background Facts and Proceedings.

       In 2014, Natasha and Daniel moved their family into a trailer home located

on Crews’s property. At that time, the family included four children: A.B., C.B.,

N.M., and S.M. (in order of eldest to youngest). A.B. and C.B. were Natasha’s

children from a prior relationship. Natasha and Daniel had C.M. a couple years

later. When they moved into the residence, C.B. was approximately eight or nine

years old, and N.M. was about four or five years old. The children’s maternal

grandmother also lived with them.

       A.B., C.B., and N.M. spent a significant amount of time at Crews’s home.

Crews lived in a trailer about 150 feet away from Natasha and Daniel’s family.

Crews’s girlfriend Lynne lived with him, but she was often away from the home.

The children’s parents were frequently gone as well, and the grandmother had

health troubles and was hospitalized multiple times. The Iowa Department of

Health and Human Services removed the children from their parents’ care on

several occasions. Crews testified that the department never officially placed the

children in his care but that it knew and approved of him serving in a quasi-

caretaking role while they lived with their parents. Crews made sure the children
                                         3

did not go hungry, washed their laundry, and took them to school. He also paid

them to do chores around the property and let them watch TV and use the internet.

      In 2018, the court removed the children from their parents for the last time

and eventually terminated their parental rights. Mariah and Charles adopted N.M.

and S.M. in 2020. In 2021, N.M. told Mariah during a home bible study about

changing bodies and sexual abuse that Crews had inappropriately touched her

multiple times. She also alleged that C.B. was involved in some of the incidents.

During a forensic interview, C.B. denied both involvement and knowledge of any

inappropriate touching. At the time of the interview, C.B. was living with his

maternal grandmother, who lived next to his parents. He has since been placed

with a foster family.   C.B. later acknowledged there had been inappropriate

touching between Crews and himself, as well as between Crews and N.M. C.B.

explained that he initially denied the allegations because he felt embarrassed and

guilty for not protecting his sister. None of the other children were implicated in

N.M. and C.B.’s allegations. A.B. and S.M. were interviewed but denied any

knowledge of inappropriate behavior.

      When a detective interviewed Crews, he denied any inappropriate sexual

behavior but forthrightly identified several incidents involving blurred boundaries.

For instance, Crews stated that N.M. would bring her father’s phone with her to his

home, watch pornographic videos on the phone, and ask Crews questions about

the videos. He claims that he tried to shut her down about the videos but ended

up answering some questions. Crews acknowledged one time when N.M. had a

rash but told him that her parents and grandmother would not put anything on it for

her, so he rubbed Vaseline on her thighs, groin, and buttocks. Crews recounted
                                             4

that the children would go swimming in his pond, and he went skinny-dipping with

them on at least one occasion. He testified that the children showered at his home

after swimming in the pond and that he would see them naked, and vice versa,

when assisting with the water temperature or getting in and out of the shower after

one another. He also acknowledged that there were two showers in his home.

       In April 2022, a jury found Crews guilty of two counts of lascivious acts with

a child—one count for each child. Crews filed a timely appeal.

II.    Review.

       We review a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence for the correction

of errors at law. State v. Sanford, 814 N.W.2d 611, 615 (Iowa 2012). If substantial

evidence supports the jury’s verdict, we will uphold it. Id. “Evidence raising only

‘suspicion, speculation, or conjecture is not substantial.’” State v. Huser, 894

N.W.2d 472, 490 (Iowa 2017) (citation omitted). “Substantial evidence is evidence

sufficient to convince a rational trier of fact the defendant is guilty beyond a

reasonable doubt.” State v. Crawford, 972 N.W.2d 189, 202 (Iowa 2022). “[W]e

view the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, including all ‘legitimate

inferences and presumptions that may fairly and reasonably be deduced from the

record evidence.’” Id. (citation omitted).

       “Additionally, we review the refusal to give a cautionary jury instruction for

abuse of discretion.” State v. Williams, 929 N.W.2d 621, 628 (Iowa 2019). Our

supreme court has described the abuse-of-discretion standard as follows:

       When assessing a district court’s decision for abuse of discretion, we
       only reverse if the district court’s decision rested on grounds or
       reasoning that were clearly untenable or clearly unreasonable.
       Grounds or reasons are untenable if they are “based on an
                                             5

          erroneous application of the law or not supported by substantial
          evidence.”

Id. (citation omitted). Even when a court abuses its discretion in giving or refusing

to give a jury instruction, such error “does not warrant reversal unless it results in

prejudice to the complaining party.” State v. Plain, 898 N.W.2d 801, 817 (Iowa

2017) (citation omitted).

III.      Discussion.

       A. Sufficiency of the Evidence.

          Crews argues that the evidence was insufficient to convict him of lascivious

acts with either child. The marshalling instructions required the State to prove:

       (1) On or about January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2018, the defendant,

          with or without N.M.’s/C.B.’s consent, performed any of the following acts

          with N.M./C.B.:

              (a) fondled or touched the pubes or genitals of N.M./C.B.; or

              (b) permitted or caused N.M./C.B. to fondle or touch the defendant’s

                 genitals or pubes;

       (2) The defendant did so with the specific intent to arouse or satisfy the sexual

          desires of the defendant or N.M./C.B.

       (3) The defendant was then 16 years of age or older.

       (4) N.M./C.B. was then under the age of 14 years.

Crews disputes the first two elements specifically. The children’s testimony was

the only evidence offered by the State on these points. Crews contends their

testimony was so inconsistent and self-contradictory as to render it unreliable and

require corroboration. We disagree.
                                           6

       A sexual abuse victim’s testimony alone may be sufficient evidence
       for conviction. As a result, [the defendant’s] argument that [the
       victim’s] testimony is not credible enough to convince a rational fact
       finder of his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt is unavailing for
       sufficiency of the evidence purposes. Inconsistencies and lack of
       detail are common in sexual abuse cases and do not compel a jury
       to conclude that the victim is not credible or that there is insufficient
       evidence to support a guilty verdict.

State v. Donahue, 957 N.W.2d 1, 10–11 (Iowa 2021).

       Crews cites the example of State v. Smith, 508 N.W.2d 101, 103 (Iowa Ct.

App. 1993), where our court found the testimony of three sexual abuse victims was

insufficient to support the conviction as a matter of law because “[w]hen read

separately or together, the accounts of alleged abuse are inconsistent, self-

contradictory, lacking in experiential detail, and, at times, border on the absurd.”

However, our supreme court has heavily criticized Smith, which “has not been

followed in any sexual abuse case in Iowa since.” State v. Mathis, 971 N.W.2d

514, 518 (Iowa 2022) (“The primary flaw in Smith is that it is inconsistent with the

standard of appellate review of jury verdicts, which requires that the evidence be

viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict and which requires deference to

the jury’s resolution of disputed factual issues.”).

       In any event, the issues highlighted by Crews do not constitute fatal

deficiencies. He points out that the children could not pin down exact dates or

times of day when the incidents occurred, but such specificity is not required. C.B.

changed his story as to whether any abuse occurred at all. N.M. claimed they

never showered at Crews’s house, that Crews had her and C.B. try to engage in

sexual intercourse, and that she did not watch pornographic videos on her father’s

phone but did watch pornographic videos with Crews on his computer. On the
                                          7

contrary, C.B. testified that they did shower or bathe at Crews’s house, that Crews

never requested he and N.M. attempt intercourse, and that N.M. raised sexual

questions to Crews and Crews would shut her down about them.

       Any conflicts in the children’s testimony were for the jury to consider. See

Fed. Land Bank of Omaha v. Emberton, 460 N.W.2d 488, 492 (Iowa Ct. App. 1990)

(“The jury had a first-hand opportunity to view the credibility of the various

witnesses and to assess the veracity of each party’s version of events.”). Despite

the discrepancies in the children’s memories on these details, a rational jury could

still credit their individual accounts of inappropriate touching with Crews. See State

v. Atkins, No. 20-0488, 2021 WL 3895198, at *3 (Iowa Ct. App. Sept. 1, 2021)

(“The inconsistencies raised in this appeal are of the kind commonly found in

prosecutions for child sex abuse, and they do not render the substance of the

testimony impossible, as was found in Smith.”).

       Each child provided sufficient evidence that genital touching occurred with

the defendant. N.M. testified that Crews rubbed Vaseline on her vagina and that

he would have her rub his penis with her hands “until white stuff came out.” C.B.

testified that Crews would touch his penis and also have C.B. rub Crews’s penis,

sometimes until Crews ejaculated. Because the touching resulted in ejaculation,

this testimony also proved that the contact was to satisfy Crews’s sexual desires.

Therefore, the children’s testimony constitutes sufficient evidence upon which

rational fact finders could find Crews guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

       Crews points to his competing explanations for the children’s testimony. For

example, he described applying Vaseline to N.M.’s groin area for a rash, seeing

the children naked in the shower only to assist with the tricky water knobs, skinny
                                          8

dipping with the children only to avoid leaving them unattended, and uncomfortably

navigating sexual questions from a curious child exposed to sex and pornography

at home. Crews also emphasizes that Daniel and Lynne testified that he had a

good relationship with the children, that he cared for them, and that they never

witnessed the alleged abuse or signs thereof.

              Regardless, all of these disputed fact issues were for the jury
       to resolve, and they did resolve them, adverse to [the defendant].
       Appellate review of the jury’s verdict is not the trial redux. In
       considering a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, “[i]t is not
       the province of the court . . . to resolve conflicts in the evidence, to
       pass upon the credibility of witnesses, to determine the plausibility of
       explanations, or to weigh the evidence; such matters are for the jury.”

Mathis, 971 N.W.2d at 519 (alterations in original) (citation omitted). Reviewing

the record in the light most favorable to the verdict, we find substantial evidence

supporting Crews’s convictions on both counts.

   B. Jury Instructions.

       The jury instructions prepared by the district court contained two instructions

pertaining to implicit bias: numbers 5 and 15. Jury instruction 5 read in part:

       As you consider the evidence, do not be influenced by any personal
       sympathy, bias, prejudices or emotions. It is common to have hidden
       or implicit thoughts that help us form our opinions. You are making
       very important decisions in this case. You must evaluate the
       evidence carefully. You must avoid decision based on things such
       as generalizations, gut feelings, prejudices, fears, sympathies,
       stereotypes, or inward or outward biases. The law demands that you
       return a just verdict, based solely on the evidence, your reason and
       common sense, and these instructions. As jurors, your sole duty is
       to find the truth and do justice.

Instruction 15 read as follows:

       Reach your verdict without discrimination. In reaching your verdict,
       you must not consider the defendant’s race, color, religious beliefs,
       national origin, or gender. You are not to return a verdict for or
       against the defendant unless you believe you would return the same
                                          9

       verdict without regard to his race, color, religious belief, national
       origin, or gender.

       Crews objected to instruction 15 and requested that it be replaced with an

implicit-bias instruction derived from Illinois Pattern Civil Jury Instruction 1.08. He

noted the instruction has been modified slightly and utilized by several Iowa district

courts in recent years, reading as follows:

       We all have feelings, assumptions, perceptions, fears, and
       stereotypes about others. Some biases we are aware of and others
       we might not be fully aware of, which is why they are called “implicit
       biases” or “unconscious biases.”

       Our biases often affect how we act, favorably or unfavorably, toward
       someone. Bias can affect our thoughts, how we remember, what we
       see and hear, whom we believe or disbelieve, and how we make
       important decisions.

       As jurors you are being asked to make very important decisions in
       this case. You must resist jumping to conclusions based on personal
       likes or dislikes. You must not let bias, prejudice, or public opinion
       influence your decision. You must not be biased in favor of or against
       any party or witness because of his or her disability, gender, race,
       religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, or
       socioeconomic status, or any other reason not based solely on the
       evidence presented in this trial, and these instructions provided to
       you.

       Your verdict must be based solely on the evidence presented. You
       must carefully evaluate the evidence and resist, and help each other
       to resist, any urge to reach a verdict that is influenced by bias for or
       against any party or witness.

       The State advocated for leaving the instructions as drafted because they

reflected the stock instructions for Iowa and already addressed implicit bias. The

State also argued that Crews’s proposed instruction “may tend to confuse issues

that are not necessarily presented here.” The district court denied Crews’s request

and simply stated it would use jury instruction 15 as drafted, which was pulled from

State v. Plain, 898 N.W.2d 801, 816 (Iowa 2017). In Plain, 898 N.W.2d at 816, our
                                         10

supreme court expressly stated that this implicit-bias instruction correctly states

the law. More recently, our supreme court approved of a very similar version of

instruction 5 in State v. Williams, 929 N.W.2d 621, 633 (Iowa 2019). These

instructions were given separately in Plain and Williams, but both were

incorporated in Crews’s case.

       Crews ignores this precedent and argues he was prejudiced by the court’s

choice because “the instruction the court used did not adequately depict all of what

an implicit bias is and how it would affect the jury’s verdict.”1 He argues it was

necessary for the court to include an accurate explanation and instruction on

implicit bias. Although we agree it is an important goal of our courts to prevent

unjust verdicts resulting from implicit bias, “Iowa law permits—but does not

require—cautionary instructions that mitigate the danger of unfair prejudice.”

Plain, 898 N.W.2d at 816 (noting courts have broad discretion about how to

address the problem of implicit bias). In sum, the court was not necessarily

required to instruct the jury on implicit bias, and the implicit-bias instructions it

elected accurately stated the law.

       Therefore, the district court did not abuse its discretion in choosing to

employ the implicit-bias instructions as drafted rather than the instruction

requested by Crews. Even if Crews’s proposed instruction was not covered by the

1 On appeal, Crews does not identify what unfair prejudice he sought to mitigate.
According to the pre-sentence investigation report, Crews is white, non-Hispanic,
male, and seventy-four years of age. We have no further information regarding
the statuses listed in the instruction. At trial, Crews suggested that the jury could
be potentially biased against him because he was represented by a female
attorney and because juries may assign undue weight to the testimony of child
witnesses.
                                           11

court’s instructions, we would find the court’s decision did not prejudice Crews.

This opinion should not be read to suggest Crews’s proposed instruction would

have necessarily been improper. See Williams, 929 N.W.2d at 633.

       Because Crews’s challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence and the

implicit-bias instruction both fail, we affirm his convictions.

       AFFIRMED.