35 results for 'cat:"Sex Offender" AND cat:"Kidnapping"'.
J. Pirtle finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for attempted kidnapping and first-degree sexual assault and sentenced him to 70 to 90 years imprisonment. Evidence shows defendant, a drug smuggler, lured the victims who he says stole his drugs to a welding shop by offering to sell them cocaine. He handcuffed the male victim, welding the cuffs to a table, and proceeded to torture him, hot-iron branding him with the word "thief" and forcing him to take 100 doses of LSD. He also sexually assaulted the female victim. All evidence supports the convictions, and the record refutes defendant's claims of ineffective assistance. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Court Of Appeals, Judge: Pirtle , Filed On: April 16, 2024, Case #: A-23-780, Categories: sex Offender, kidnapping, Mayhem
J. Flood finds that defendant was improperly sentenced for both first-degree kidnapping and sexual offense charges following his conviction for rape of a person 15 years of age or younger because the jury had been instructed that defendant could only be convicted of the kidnapping charge based on sexual offense charges for which he was also convicted, which violated double jeopardy. However, the court properly declined to suppress evidence obtained under warrants in light of probable cause that included the victim's claims that defendant kidnapped her from her parent's home and raped her at his own residence. Meanwhile, the affidavit listed items to be seized, including electronics, which the affidavit linked to the illegal activity. Affirmed in part.
Court: North Carolina Court of Appeals, Judge: Flood, Filed On: April 2, 2024, Case #: COA23-832, Categories: Search, sex Offender, kidnapping
J. Watkins finds that the trial court properly denied defendant's amended motion for a new trial on his rape, kidnapping and family violence aggravated assault and battery convictions. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions, including the victim's testimony that she had sex with defendant so he would stop beating her. The trial court correctly admitted into evidence letters defendant sent from jail. Defendant failed to show that his trial counsel's performance was deficient. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Watkins, Filed On: March 11, 2024, Case #: A23A1516, Categories: sex Offender, Domestic Violence, kidnapping
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[Consolidated.] J. Doyle finds that the trial court properly granted defendant's motion to suppress evidence derived from real-time GPS and cell-site location information provided by T-Mobile to police. The evidence led to defendant's indictment for rape, kidnapping, robbery and other offenses. The trial court discredited a detective's testimony about the exigent circumstances request made by police and found that four statements in the request contained misrepresentations which exaggerated the exigency of the circumstances. The trial court also correctly rejected defendant's motion to dismiss three counts of the indictment related to the alleged rape in his vehicle. There is no evidence that police acted in bad faith by failing to prevent the vehicle from being vandalized before defendant could search for allegedly exculpatory evidence inside. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Doyle, Filed On: February 29, 2024, Case #: A23A1444, Categories: Evidence, sex Offender, kidnapping
J. Welbaum finds the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to sever various criminal charges to allow for separate trials as to each of his victims. The evidence for each victim was simple and direct and would have been admissible as other acts evidence if separate trials had taken place. Meanwhile, the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to merge kidnapping for the purpose of sexual assault and rape convictions because his prolonged seizure of the victim was a separate and distinct animus from the rape of the victim, which allowed each conviction to carry its own sentence. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: February 23, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-684, Categories: Sentencing, sex Offender, kidnapping
[Consolidated.] Per curiam, the court of appeals denies the institute's petitions for writs of mandamus seeking to challenge the trial court's denial of its motion to dismiss assault, false imprisonment and sexual abuse claims. The lawsuit alleges the institute is a cult that teaches allegedly heretical Christian doctrine, homeschooling and paramilitary training for young males, and grooms girls to be compliant sexual assault victims. In the early stages of litigation, the institute's relators are not entitled to dismissal of the real parties in interest's civil conspiracy claim under the rule governing baseless claims.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: February 22, 2024, Case #: 12-23-00296-CV, Categories: sex Offender, Conspiracy, kidnapping
J. Sutton finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of rape, sodomy, and kidnapping. The state proved beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant locked the victim in the trunk of her car and drover her to a secluded spot so he could force her to perform oral sex at gunpoint. Further, the court did not err in declining to answer the jury's question about whether defendant's sentences would run consecutively or concurrently. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: February 20, 2024, Case #: WD85844, Categories: sex Offender, kidnapping, Jury Instructions
Per curiam, the court of appeals finds the trial court properly ordered psychoactive medication be involuntarily administered to the state hospital patient. The patient was found to be incompetent to stand trial on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child, kidnapping and forced prostitution. The attending doctor filed the application to administer psychoactive medication because the patient suffers from schizoaffective bipolar disorder and refused to voluntarily take the prescribed antipsychotic. The patient lacks the capacity to make the decision and the medication is in his best interest. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: January 31, 2024, Case #: 12-23-00260-CV, Categories: sex Offender, kidnapping, Commitment
J. McShan finds that the lower court improperly convicted defendant based on his Alford plea to attempted kidnapping of two underage girls he and codefendant picked up while driving from Missouri to New York and back, leaving them in Ohio. Defendant made the plea based on the promise that he could challenge the preclusion of the defense that he had not known the girls' ages, but since conditional pleas are generally not accepted in New York, the matter must be remitted. Reversed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: McShan, Filed On: January 25, 2024, Case #: 112832, Categories: sex Offender, Plea, kidnapping
J. Tookey finds trial court properly denied defendant’s motion for judgment of acquittal on a second-degree kidnapping charge. “Evidence is legally sufficient for the jury to have determined that defendant had the requisite intent to ‘interfere with [the victim’s] freedom of movement’ during the nonconsensual taking.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Tookey, Filed On: January 24, 2024, Case #: A178356, Categories: Evidence, sex Offender, kidnapping
J. Northcutt finds the circuit court improperly denied defendant’s motion for postconviction relief from his convictions for sexual battery, kidnapping, impersonating an officer, fraudulent use of a credit card and grand theft. Though defendant says that a letter purportedly sent by a Tampa police officer reveals the existence of surveillance video that would prove his innocence, the lack of a signature on the letter raises the question of authenticity. Still, the postconviction court failed to rule on defendant’s timely filed amended motion or to attach any records that refute his claim. The court also failed to hold an evidentiary hearing to determine the authenticity of the letter. Reversed and remanded.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Northcutt, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 2D22-1355, Categories: Sentencing, sex Offender, kidnapping
J. McKinnon holds that the trial court properly sentenced defendant to 50 years, with 15 suspended, for aggravated kidnapping, rape and partner assault. The constitution requires a trial court to present aggravating sentencing factors to a jury, but not mitigating factors. Also, defendant's level three sexual offender designation was supported by abundant evidence, and his trial counsel's performance was not insufficient. Affirmed.
Court: Montana Supreme Court, Judge: McKinnon, Filed On: September 19, 2023, Case #: DA 21-0202, Categories: Sentencing, sex Offender, kidnapping
J. Kistler finds the trial court properly denied post-conviction relief to defendant, convicted of kidnapping, rape and sodomy. “Petitioner’s guilty plea—specifically, his waiver of his Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial—was knowing and intelligent because he was correctly informed about the scope of that Sixth Amendment right, as the United States Supreme Court then interpreted it, when he entered his plea in 2007.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Kistler, Filed On: September 13, 2023, Case #: A178342, Categories: sex Offender, Plea, kidnapping
J. Gallagher finds defense counsel's failure to repeatedly object to the prosecution's use of the term "victim" during his trial on rape, kidnapping, and assault charges did not constitute ineffective assistance of counsel. In the context of the case, the word was not used to imply defendant's guilt or elicit sympathy from the jury, while the attorney also made an initial objection when the word was first used. Meanwhile, the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to merge several kidnapping counts for sentencing purposes because each conviction was related to a separate course of conduct. Affirmed in part.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gallagher, Filed On: September 7, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3148, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, sex Offender, kidnapping
J. Lucci finds the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to dismiss on speedy trial grounds. Competency hearings and defendant's numerous discovery motions tolled his speedy trial clock. Furthermore, although the victim admitted she had consensual sex with defendant several times during the course of events that led to his kidnapping and rape charges, the jury did not lose its way when it found her testimony about his actions credible and convicted him. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Lucci, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3019, Categories: sex Offender, kidnapping, Speedy Trial
J. Watkins finds that the trial court properly denied defendant's double jeopardy plea in bar claiming that his guilty plea to burglary and theft precluded the state from prosecuting him for offenses he allegedly committed against the same victim, including rape, kidnapping, sodomy and false imprisonment. The offenses alleged in the two indictments did not arise from the same conduct because defendant left the apartment after allegedly raping the victim and returned later. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Watkins, Filed On: August 22, 2023, Case #: A23A1046, Categories: sex Offender, Double Jeopardy, kidnapping
J. Smith finds that the lower court improperly in part convicted defendant of rape and kidnapping. An element of the jury instructions were incorrectly given, as the state contended that defendant committed two acts of rape but did not require the jury to agree to which act supported the overall conviction. While defendant's claims of double jeopardy are without merit, his rape and kidnapping convictions are vacated and the matter is remanded for further proceedings. His robbery conviction requires resentencing as well. Vacated in part.
Court: Washington Court Of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: August 21, 2023, Case #: 83773-7-I, Categories: sex Offender, Assault, kidnapping
J. Trapp finds that data from defendant's cell phone that showed he visited several car washes while watching pornographic videos before he attempted to abduct the victim, as well as the victim's testimony about the attack, was sufficient to convict him of attempted kidnapping for the purpose of nonconsensual sexual activity. Meanwhile, the illegal contraband seized from defendant's car following his arrest was plainly visible and was discovered as part of an inventory search of the vehicle; therefore, any motion to suppress would have been denied and defendant's attorney was not ineffective for failing to file such a motion. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Trapp, Filed On: August 14, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2831, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, sex Offender, kidnapping
J. Bernstein finds the trial court improperly convicted defendant for kidnapping, assault and criminal sexual conduct. The court imposed a restriction on peremptory challenges to jurors during selection, and defendant’s counsel objected to this. The Court of Appeals held that the objection was subject to review for harmless error and that defendant had not established the prejudice necessary for relief. The erroneous denial of a peremptory challenge is subject to automatic reversal when the error is preserved, and no curative action is taken. Reversed and remanded.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Bernstein, Filed On: July 14, 2023, Case #: 161513, Categories: sex Offender, Assault, kidnapping
J. Jacquot finds the trial court erred in addressing the stand-alone due process claim of defendant, who pleaded guilty to kidnapping and attempted rape. “There is no good reason to leave the judgment ambiguous where that could lead to additional inefficiencies down the road.” Reversed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Jacquot, Filed On: July 12, 2023, Case #: A176855, Categories: sex Offender, kidnapping
J. Markle finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of kidnapping with bodily injury, rape, robbery by force, aggravated assault and obstructing officers. The trial court correctly admitted evidence of a prior strangling allegation against defendant because the evidence was relevant to show defendant's intent. The probative value of the evidence outweighed any undue prejudice to defendant. The trial court did not commit any error in allowing the state to introduce evidence of defendant's refusal to consent to a cheek swab. Defendant failed to show that his trial counsel's performance was deficient. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Markle, Filed On: June 27, 2023, Case #: A23A0259, Categories: sex Offender, Assault, kidnapping
J. Guerrero finds the appeals court misinterpreted the force requirement of the kidnapping statute where the victim is deceived while intoxicated. Defendant transported and then raped an intoxicated victim after telling her he could find her lost cell phone. The force requirement for an intoxicated person is the same as for an infant or child, who cannot provide legal consent, cannot fathom illegal intent and may willingly go with a deceptive kidnapper. Combined with the illegal intent that he had to commit rape, the jury had adequate findings to convict defendant of kidnapping. Reversed.
Court: California Supreme Court, Judge: Guerrero, Filed On: June 22, 2023, Case #: S272627, Categories: sex Offender, kidnapping, Jury Instructions
J. Peterson finds that the trial court improperly granted defendant's pretrial motion to exclude a statement made to his mother on the phone during a high speed car chase with police. Defendant, who is charged with kidnapping, attempted rape and murder, told his mother that he did not want to pull over for police because he did not want to go back to prison. The trial court applied an incorrect standard in reaching its decision. Vacated.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: June 21, 2023, Case #: S23A0507, Categories: Murder, sex Offender, kidnapping