IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE
AT KNOXVILLE
May 22, 2001 Session
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. RHONDA GRILLS
Direct Appeal from the Circuit Court for Sullivan County
No. S41,531 R. Jerry Beck, Judge
No. E2000-01031-CCA-R3-CD
June 26, 2001
The defendant, Rhonda Grills, was convicted of facilitation of the felony rape of a child less than 13
years of age. The trial court imposed a Range I sentence of 10 years. The defendant was fined
$25,000.00. In this appeal of right, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence.
Because the evidence is adequate to support the facilitation of the rape of a child, the judgment is
affirmed.
Tenn. R. App. P. 3; Judgment of the Trial Court Affirmed.
GARY R. WADE, P.J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which THOMAS T. WOODALL and
ROBERT W. WEDEMEYER , JJ., joined.
Keith A. Hopson, Kingsport, Tennessee, for the appellant, Rhonda Grills.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Angele M. Gregory, Assistant Attorney General;
and James Goodwin, Gregory A. Newman, and Mary Katharine Harvey, Assistant District Attorneys
General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
OPINION
The male victim, BG,1 was born July 25, 1986. In April of 1997, he lived in Kingsport with
the defendant, who is his mother, and two siblings. The defendant's mother, sister, and a niece lived
in the same residence. The defendant's boyfriend, Darryl Elkins, often stayed overnight at the
residence.
On one occasion, Elkins and the defendant had been drinking. The defendant lost
consciousness due to the excessiveness of her drinking, and, according to the victim, Elkins entered
1
It is the policy of this court not to ide ntify minor victim s of sex crimes.
the victim's bedroom, jumped on top of him from behind, and began to bounce up and down on him
as he lay in his bed. The victim, who was lying on his stomach, was dressed only in boxer shorts.
The victim called for help and testified at trial that his first cousin, Roy Carrico, who was visiting
the residence, pulled Elkins away and warned him not to touch the victim again. The victim testified
that he did not tell his mother or anyone else of the incident "[b]ecause [he] was ashamed of what
[Elkins] had done to [him]."
About two weeks after the initial incident, the victim was in his bedroom, lying on his
stomach, and listening to music on the radio. Elkins entered his room and shut the door. According
to the victim, the defendant then entered the room and watched as Elkins removed his own pants and
then those of the victim and "stuck his wiener up my butt," keeping "it there for about five minutes
. . . [before] I felt something gooey." According to the victim, Elkins then threatened to kill him if
he told anyone else about the incident. During the assault, Elkins held a knife to the victim's throat.
The victim testified that the defendant did nothing, even when he resisted and told Elkins to "get off
of me." After the assault, "Mom and Darryl left the residence." Later, the defendant's children were
removed from the home for unrelated reasons and placed into foster care.
Initially, the victim told no one of the incident but had difficulties afterwards with soiling his
underwear. Later, after moving into the foster home of Georgia Martin, the victim informed her of
the assault. Ms. Martin called a social worker who then notified the police. Later, the victim told
his paternal grandmother and his aunt and uncle. At the direction of the defendant, he claimed that
Roy Carrico was guilty of the rape. Ultimately, the victim acknowledged that he had been untruthful
with authorities and named Elkins as his assailant.
At the request of the Department of Human Services, John Heise, a pediatrician in Kingsport,
treated the victim. The medical history he was provided included information that the victim had
been anally penetrated by an individual named Darryl. Dr. Heise recalled that the victim stated that
the time of penetration was about five minutes until "he felt a gooey substance." Dr. Heise described
the victim's rectal area as "slightly open or gaping when it should have been closed tight." He
determined that the physical changes were consistent with the complaints made by the victim.
Elkins, who was tried jointly with the defendant,2 called Carrico as a witness. When asked
about the victim's claim that he had called for help during the first incident with Elkins, Carrico
responded, "[T]hat's a lie." Carrico, who wore jail clothing to the trial, testified that he had never
pulled Elkins off the victim and had never warned Elkins not to touch the victim. On cross-
examination by the state, it was established that Carrico, who had been convicted of two aggravated
assaults, was a prisoner at a jail in Sullivan County. Carrico also admitted a 1994 theft offense.
The defendant testified on her own behalf. She denied that the incident ever occurred and
claimed that she "would not stand by and let somebody hurt [her] child." The defendant, who
acknowledged a conviction of fraud in 1995, testified that she had never instructed her "son to lie
2
Elkins w as found guilty of fe lony rap e of a child and attem pted rape of a child.
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on [any]body." She acknowledged that Elkins shared a residence with her and her family at the time
the victim contended the offense took place. The defendant also conceded that she continued her
relationship with Elkins. The defendant testified that by the time of the trial, their relationship had
ended. She acknowledged that Carrico was her first cousin.
Detective Penny Kindle of the Kingsport Police Department was called as a defense witness.
She recalled having questioned the victim about a year after the incident. Detective Kindle testified
that at that time, the victim made no mention of the involvement of the defendant.
The defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence. She contends that the testimony
offered by the state, even if taken as true, is inadequate to convict because it does nothing other than
establish that she sat in a chair during the course of the rape. In response, the state alleges the proof
demonstrated "substantial assistance" in the commission of the felony.
On appeal, the state is entitled to the strongest legitimate view of the evidence and all
inferences which might be drawn therefrom. State v. Cabbage, 571 S.W.2d 832, 836 (Tenn. 1978).
The credibility of the witnesses, the weight to be given their testimony, and the reconciliation of
conflicts in the evidence are matters entrusted exclusively to the jury as the trier of fact. Byrge v.
State, 575 S.W.2d 292, 295 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1978). The relevant question is whether, after
reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the state, any rational trier of fact could have
found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Tenn. R. App. P. 13(e); State
v. Williams, 657 S.W.2d 405, 410 (Tenn. 1983). This court may neither reweigh nor reevaluate the
evidence; nor may this court substitute its inferences for those drawn by the trier of fact. Liakas v.
State, 199 Tenn. 298, 286 S.W.2d 856, 859 (1956). The evidence is sufficient when a rational trier
of fact could conclude that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia,
443 U.S. 307 (1979). The defendant has the burden of demonstrating that the evidence is not
sufficient when there is a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence. State v. Tuggle, 639 S.W.2d
913, 914 (Tenn. 1982).
Rape of a child, a Class A felony, is defined as follows:
(a) Rape of a child is the unlawful sexual penetration of a victim by the
defendant or the defendant by a victim, if such victim is less than thirteen (13) years
of age.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-522(a) (1997).
A person is "criminally responsible for the facilitation of a felony if, knowing that another
intends to commit a specific felony, but without the intent required for criminal responsibility under
§ 39-11-402(2), the person knowingly furnishes substantial assistance in the commission of the
felony." Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-403(a).
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Here, the jury accredited the testimony of the victim who, at the time of the rape, was in the
physical and legal custody of the defendant. Their assessment of the truthfulness of the victim at
trial is critical to our own conclusions reached in this appeal. By closing the door to the bedroom
and by undertaking a passive role while her minor son was sexually molested by her adult boyfriend,
the defendant tacitly approved of the conduct. A parent has a duty to her child and the failure to
fulfill that obligation may result in criminal culpability. See, e.g., State v. Hodges, 7 S.W.3d 609,
623 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1998). In State v. Angela Renee Gates, No. E1998-00131-CCA-R3-CD
(Tenn. Crim. App., at Knoxville, Jan. 21, 2000), this court affirmed a conviction for facilitation of
aggravated child abuse where the defendant, the mother of the victim, allowed her boyfriend to
administer physical abuse. When there is such a duty, the failure to take action is tantamount to
substantial assistance in the crime. That the defendant failed to take responsible action at the time
of the rape and later encouraged the victim to lie about the identity of his assailant are circumstances
which would warrant a conviction for facilitation to commit the rape. In our view, the evidence was
sufficient.
Accordingly, the judgment is affirmed.
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GARY R. WADE, PRESIDING JUDGE
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