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Mohajer v. Commonwealth9/17/2002
Argued at Alexandria, Virginia
Vahid Mohajer appeals his convictions by a jury of forcible sodomy and animate object penetration. Mohajer contends the trial court erred (1) in allowing the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner ("SANE") to state an expert opinion regarding the cause of Ward's injuries, and (2) in finding the evidence sufficient to support the convictions. For the reasons that follow, we affirm Mohajer's convictions.
I. BACKGROUND
Under familiar principles of appellate review, we examine the evidence in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, the prevailing party below, granting to that evidence all reasonable inferences fairly deducible therefrom. See Juares v. Commonwealth, 26 Va. App. 154, 156, 493 S.E.2d 677, 678 (1997).
So viewed, the evidence established that Miranda Ward, an eighteen-year-old high school student, took her friend, Josh Whitlow, to Ana Visage Skin and Body Care. As a graduation present, Ward had arranged for the two to receive their first professional massages. They arrived at approximately 6:00 p.m. and were greeted by two women, one of whom was the owner. The owner escorted Ward and Whitlow to separate massage rooms, located across the hallway from one another.
Ward and Whitlow were instructed to take off their clothes and cover themselves with wrap-around towels. They complied as directed. At first, Ward shared her friend's room, where the two sat in the sauna for several minutes and drank a glass of champagne. Next, Ward was escorted back to her room, while Whitlow remained in his room. Ward was instructed to lie on the massage table. Mohajer entered shortly thereafter. Mohajer was introduced to Ward as "Steve" and informed that he would perform her massage.
At the beginning of the session, the door to Ward's room remained slightly ajar. She and Whitlow were able to converse freely from their respective rooms, and often called out to one another inquiring as to how the other's treatment was proceeding. Mohajer also made small talk with her, falsely representing to her that he was a police officer and showing her what he purported to be his police badge. Although Ward realized after the incident that he had tricked her, his false representation made her feel "comfortable" with him at the time.
After about thirty minutes had elapsed, Whitlow was placed in another room, which precluded further communication between the two. At that point, Mohajer closed the door to Ward's room so he and Ward were alone. As Mohajer continued the massage, he moved his hands down to Ward's chest, and continued to move his hands downward, until he reached Ward's breast area and began to massage her breasts. Ward testified that she did not know "if that was supposed to be happening because wasn't sure you were supposed to get that done when you were getting a massage." Ward soon realized that something was wrong, "because [Mohajer's] hands started getting a tighter grip to them and he started squeezing them harder . . . ." Ward testified that she was confused at that time and did not know "how she was supposed to react or what was supposed to do."
Next, Mohajer walked to the right side of the massage table and began massaging Ward's leg. He massaged in an upward direction until his hand reached her vagina. Mohajer then inserted first one finger, and then two fingers into Ward's vagina. Ward testified that she did not react at that point, " body just - didn't know what to do and it just locked down." She stated, "I remember clutching my fist and I was crying, and I just started praying and I was just like, God, please stop. I didn't know what to do because I didn't know how to react to it.
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