ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Kevin C. C. Wild Jeffrey Modisett
Indianapolis, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
Randi E. Froug
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
In The
INDIANA SUPREME COURT
RUSSELL BOWLES, JR., )
Defendant-Appellant, )
)
v. ) 49S00-9908-CR-443
)
STATE OF INDIANA, )
Plaintiff-Appellee. )
________________________________________________
APPEAL FROM THE MARION SUPERIOR COURT
The Honorable Jane Magnus-Stinson
Cause No. 49G06-9703-CF-6755
________________________________________________
On Direct Appeal
November 3, 2000
DICKSON, Justice
The defendant, Russell Bowles, Jr., was convicted of eight counts of
child molesting[1] involving two minor victims occurring over a period of
twenty months in 1995 and 1996. We affirm, rejecting the defendant's
claims of insufficient evidence, erroneous exclusion of evidence, improper
closing argument, and erroneous admission of sentencing hearing evidence.
Sufficiency of the Evidence
The defendant asserts two claims of insufficient evidence. He first
contends that his convictions were based on the inherently unreliable
testimony of the two girls who were molested.
In reviewing a claim of insufficient evidence, we will affirm the
conviction unless, considering only the evidence and reasonable inferences
favorable to the judgment, and neither reweighing the evidence nor judging
the credibility of the witnesses, we conclude that no reasonable fact-
finder could find the elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable
doubt. Jenkins v. State, 726 N.E.2d 268, 270 (Ind. 2000); Webster v.
State, 699 N.E.2d 266, 268 (Ind. 1998); Hodge v. State, 688 N.E.2d 1246,
1247-48 (Ind. 1997). A victim's testimony, even if uncorroborated, is
ordinarily sufficient to sustain a conviction for child molesting. Brooks
v. State, 560 N.E.2d 49, 53 (Ind. 1990); Downey v. State, 726 N.E.2d 794,
796 (Ind. Ct. App. 2000), trans. denied; Spurlock v. State, 718 N.E.2d 773,
777 (Ind. Ct. App. 1999), trans. denied. When confronted with testimony
that is inherently improbable or coerced, equivocal, wholly uncorroborated
or of incredible dubiosity, we may make an exception and reweigh the
credibility of a witness. Tillman v. State, 642 N.E.2d 221, 223 (Ind.
1994). We have limited this exception, however, to cases where a sole
witness presents inherently contradictory testimony that is equivocal or
the result of coercion, and there is a complete lack of circumstantial
evidence of guilt. White v. State, 706 N.E.2d 1078, 1079-80 (Ind. 1999).
The two victims were sisters, who lived with their parents in the
defendant's home. When they testified at trial, one was fourteen and the
other twelve. The charged molestations occurred when they were ages nine,
ten, and eleven. Urging that their testimony was inherently improbable,
the defendant points to evidence that the girls had a bad reputation for
truthfulness; that it was unlikely that the girls were ever alone; that the
defendant's house (where the molestations occurred) was constantly
frequented by unannounced visitors; that his practice was to keep the
children, those in the household (including the victims) and those
visiting, together as a group; that the separate, private incidents
described by the two girls were strikingly similar; that their accusations
immediately followed a fight between the defendant and their parents; and
that their testimony contained inconsistencies.
Both girls testified to specific instances of molestation by the
defendant, and maintained their positions on direct and cross-examination.
Their testimony did not reflect material inconsistencies. It was not
inherently contradictory. The defendant's claims are matters of weight and
credibility, a determination best left for the jury. We decline to find
that the victims' testimony was insufficient to support the defendant's
convictions.
The defendant further claims that there was insufficient evidence of
his intent to arouse, the element required to make three of the convictions
class C felonies. The statute provides:
A person who, with a child under fourteen (14) years of age, performs
or submits to any fondling or touching, of either the child or the
older person, with intent to arouse or to satisfy the sexual desires
of either the child or the older person, commits child molesting, a
Class C felony.
Ind. Code § 35-42-4-3. Mere touching alone is not sufficient to constitute
the crime of child molesting. Clark v. State, 695 N.E.2d 999, 1002 (Ind.
Ct. App. 1998), trans. denied; Nuerge v. State, 677 N.E.2d 1043, 1048 (Ind.
Ct. App.1997), trans. denied. The State must also prove beyond a
reasonable doubt that the act of touching was accompanied by the specific
intent to arouse or satisfy sexual desires. Clark, 695 N.E.2d at 1002.
The intent element of child molesting may be established by circumstantial
evidence and may be inferred from the actor's conduct and the natural and
usual sequence to which such conduct usually points. Id.
Both girls testified that the defendant performed intentional sexual
acts on them. The defendant performed oral sex on the girls, fondled their
breasts, rubbed his genitals on theirs, and had one girl squeeze his penis.
Record at 310, 317, 362-63. From these acts the jury could infer that the
defendant intended sexual arousal. Considering the facts favorable to the
judgment, we find that a reasonable jury could find the intent element
proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Exclusion of Evidence
The defendant first contends that the trial court erred in sustaining
the State's objections to testimony from the girls' great aunt regarding
the girls' reputation for honesty in the community.
At trial, when asked if she had ever discussed with other people the
reputation for telling the truth of one of the girls, H.B., the witness
stated: "I've talked, we've talked about it, a few of my friends has talked
about it, you know." Record at 447. Upon further questioning, she said
that these friends knew H.B., that they lived in the witness's community,
and that the witness had known them "for some time." Id. When the defense
then asked the witness regarding her opinion about H.B.'s reputation for
telling the truth, the prosecutor objected, stating: "I don't believe this
meets the correct standard for reputation for truthfulness in the
community." Id. The defense replied: "Well, that's her community." Id.
The trial court commented upon the lack of an adequate foundation and
sustained the objection.
Under limited circumstances, the credibility of a witness may be
attacked by opinion or reputation evidence. Ind. Evidence Rule 608(a).
Our Court of Appeals has discussed the nature of the communities from which
admissible reputation evidence may be drawn:
[E]vidence of reputation for veracity should not necessarily be
limited to that within the person's community of residence, but should
include any community or society in which he or she has a well-known
or established reputation. That reputation must be a general
reputation, held by an identifiable group of people who have an
adequate basis upon which to form an opinion, and the witness
testifying to reputation must have sufficient contact with that
community or society to qualify as knowledgeable of the general
reputation of the person whose character is attacked or supported.
Dynes v. Dynes, 637 N.E.2d 1321, 1323 (Ind. Ct. App. 1994), trans. denied.
Considering the sparse information provided regarding the nature of the
community, the basis for a reputation opinion, and the extent of the
witness's contact with the community, the trial court was well within its
discretion in sustaining the objection.
The defendant also claims the trial court erred in excluding the
testimony of C.W., an acquaintance of the victims. During the defendant's
case, he sought to call C.W. to testify regarding prior remarks by one of
the victims, A.D., who had testified during the State's case in chief.
These prior remarks, however, were not mentioned during A.D.'s testimony.
The trial court excluded the proposed testimony. In an offer to prove,
C.W., age sixteen, testified that A.D. had stated that, during the school
"Good Touch – Bad Touch" program, A.D. had raised her hand and said that
she had been touched by someone, although she didn't mention any names.
C.W. further testified that, after A.D. learned that C.W. would be
attending a similar program the next week, A.D. said to C.W., "Why don't
you say that you've been touched," to which C.W. replied, "Well, why should
I lie?" Record at 469. The trial court reaffirmed its ruling excluding
the evidence.
On appeal, the defendant argues that this testimony indicates A.D.'s
"disregard for the truth and lack of comprehension for the seriousness of
alleging molestation." Brief of Appellant at 13. He asserts that it would
have disclosed prior conduct by A.D. that was inconsistent with her
testimony that she was telling the truth. In view of the lack of material
content in A.D.'s prior remarks in the proffered testimony of C.W., we
conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding the
evidence.
Closing Argument
The defendant contends that the trial judge erred in allowing the
prosecution to read a highly prejudicial, inflammatory, and irrelevant poem
to the jury during its final closing argument. The State argues that this
was nothing more than an innovative alternate form of zealous argument.
At a bench conference at the conclusion of the evidence, the
prosecution advised the court of its intention to use a poem in rebuttal
closing argument. The poem was then reviewed by the trial court and
defense counsel, who objected on grounds that the poem was highly
prejudicial and not supported by the evidence. The trial court overruled
the defendant's objection. The poem was about a cockroach, who demoralizes
and pesters the writer into insanity. At the end of the poem, the writer
looks toward the future when she will be strong enough to triumph over the
cockroach. The prosecutor drew the analogy of the poem to this case with
the defendant as the cockroach and the victims as the writer.
The State began its final closing argument as follows:
Vile creature, your filth spreads my disease. You multiply in my mind
until I feel nothing but terror. You suck out my faith, you spit on
my trust. The common household vermin. With much excitement you
devour my innocence. Demoralizing my confidence nourishes you.
Selfish beast that scares me into corners. You pester me into
insanity. No one thinks that you are there, for you attack only at
night. In obscurity you leave the cracks in the floor to prey upon my
soul. Scurrying along my skin you make a comfortable home in my
ignorance. You find me no matter where I hide, and slowly I drift
into oblivion. This man, the defendant, Russell Bowles, is like a
cockroach. . . .
Record at 518. The State concluded its argument by stating:
I ask you to convict. The poem ends, feast now, cockroach, for one
day I will be strong enough and not afraid, and I will crush you with
my little toe. You know what, though, they're little girls. All they
can do is come forward and tell you the story. This is where your
responsibility begins. You know the truth. You know it beyond a
reasonable doubt. I ask you to put an end to what this man has been
doing in their lives. You have to tell him no. You have to call him
guilty. Thank you.
Record at 526.
Conduct during final argument is a matter within the sound discretion
of the trial court, and a conviction will not be reversed unless there has
been a clear abuse of discretion resulting in prejudice to the accused.
Hill v. State, 517 N.E.2d 784, 786 (Ind. 1988). We decline to find that
the trial court abused its discretion in permitting the argument.
Admission of Sentencing Hearing Evidence
The defendant contends that the trial court erred when it admitted
into evidence at the sentencing hearing a statement by a victim from a
prior conviction of the defendant.[2]
To constitute grounds for reversal, an error in the admission of
evidence must be "inconsistent with substantial justice." Ind. Trial Rule
61. A reviewing court must disregard any error "which does not affect the
substantial rights of the parties." Id. When, as here, a trial court
relies upon aggravating circumstances to enhance the presumptive sentence,
it must identify all significant circumstances, state the specific reasons
why the circumstance is aggravating or mitigating, and articulate the
court's evaluation and balancing of the circumstances. Ind. Code § 35-38-1-
3; Bonds v. State, 729 N.E.2d 1002, 1005 (Ind. 2000). This requirement
insures that only proper matters are considered. Hammons v. State, 493
N.E.2d 1250, 1254 (Ind. 1986).
In this case, the trial court expansively articulated these factors
at sentencing. Record at 619-24. Although it recited the defendant's
extensive criminal history, the court did not rely upon or refer to any
information contained in the challenged statement from the prior victim.
It is not necessary for us to decide whether the trial court erred. We
conclude that the alleged error did not affect the defendant's substantial
rights.
Conclusion
The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
SHEPARD, C.J., and SULLIVAN, BOEHM, and RUCKER, JJ., concur.
-----------------------
[1] Ind. Code § 35-42-4-3.
[2] The defendant also claims error in the admission at sentencing of
evidence that the defendant was the father of a child born to a female who
was underage when the child was conceived. At trial, the defendant
objected only to State's Exhibit 1, the report of the DNA analysis. He did
not object to testimony providing the out of court statements of the
underage female. He argues that, because the DNA report was not provided
in advance, he had insufficient time to examine or challenge its validity
or accuracy. This claim is without merit because the trial court sustained
the defendant's objection to the DNA exhibit. Record at 609.