State v. Kossow8/23/2001
Assigned on Briefs June 20, 2001
Defendant entered pleas of guilty to the rape of a child in Counts 1, 6, and 7 of the indictment and in Count 3, a plea of guilty to aggravated sexual battery. At the conclusion of a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed sentences of 24 years for each count of rape of a child and 12 years for the offense of aggravated sexual battery. The trial court ordered that the sentences be served consecutively, resulting in a sentence of 84 years. On direct appeal, Defendant asserts that the trial court erred in imposing an inappropriate sentence on each count and erred in imposing consecutive sentencing on all charges. After a review of the record, we affirm the trial court's judgment.
Tenn. R. App. P. 3; Judgment of the Circuit Court is Affirmed.
L. Terry Lafferty, Sr. J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which David G. Hayes, J., and Thomas T. Woodall, J., joined.
OPINION
The March 1999 session of the Warren County Grand Jury indicted Defendant in seven counts of rape of a child and five counts of exploitation. On March 31, 2000, Defendant entered three pleas of guilty to rape of a child in Counts 1, 6, and 7, and one plea of guilty to aggravated sexual battery in Count 5. In Count 1, Defendant admitted to rape of a child, TLP, age 10, in October 1996. In Count 5, Defendant admitted he did intentionally touch the intimate parts of KT, a child, age 10, in June 1998. As to Count 6, Defendant admitted to sexual intercourse with CAT, a child, age 6, in August 1998. And in Count 7, Defendant had sexual intercourse with CAT, a child, age, 7 in January 1999. All of these offenses occurred in Defendant's residence. Defendant was a friend of the children's parents and the children had been left in his custody while they worked. In consideration of Defendant's guilty plea in four cases, the other counts would be dismissed. Defendant requested a sentencing hearing for the trial court to determine an appropriate sentence for each offense.
SENTENCING HEARING
Derwin Adcock, an investigator for the McMinnville Police Department, testified that he talked to the children involved in these offenses and based upon what they told him, he obtained a search warrant for Defendant's residence. Officer Adcock recovered some magazines such as "Playboy," some pornography usually bought at adult-type bookstores, a video camera, still cameras and some plastic tubing. These items were described by the children as being used by Defendant in photographing them in the nude and tying the children up while sex acts were performed on them. Office Adcock found some photographs in a suitcase of nude young females. The nude photographs were of other unknown females. When Officer Adcock talked to Defendant, Defendant's answers to questions seemed appropriate under the circumstances. Although, the children told Officer Adcock that Defendant had taken videos of them, he did not find any such videos during his search. When Officer Adcock went to Defendant's residence, a note was taped to the front door stating, "Gone for the summer, will be back." Office Adcock put out a broadcast for Defendant who was found at a local pawn shop.
Brenda Thomas, mother of the three girls, stated that she and her husband had been married for six years. They had a six-month old child. She stated that she had a daughter, TLP, age 8 at the time of the offense, and two stepdaughters, KT, age 11, and CAT, age 8. When she and her husband were married in 1994, Defendant was an acquaintance of her husband and on occasion, Defendant lived in their home. Defendant obtained some disability benefits and did not work. While Mrs. Thomas worked, De
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Tennessee Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|