Com. v. Mitchell, W. ( 2015 )


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  • J-S31004-15
    NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
    COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA,                     IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
    PENNSYLVANIA
    Appellee
    v.
    WILLIAM FRANKLIN MITCHELL,
    Appellant                  No. 1734 MDA 2014
    Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered May 29, 2014
    In the Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County
    Criminal Division at No(s): CP-36-CR-0003085-2013
    BEFORE: BENDER, P.J.E., ALLEN, J., and WECHT, J.
    MEMORANDUM BY BENDER, P.J.E.:                            FILED JUNE 26, 2015
    William Franklin Mitchell (Appellant) appeals from the May 29, 2014
    judgment of sentence of an aggregate term of 4 to 8 years’ incarceration
    after being found guilty at a bench trial of sexual assault1 and corruption of
    minors.2      Appellant now challenges the sufficiency and weight of the
    evidence supporting his convictions and the trial court’s discretion in the
    exclusion of certain evidence. After careful review, we affirm the judgement
    of sentence.
    The trial court set forth a factual summary of this matter as follows:
    On the morning of May 1, 2013, [Appellant] exchanged
    messages with S.R. [the victim], with whom he was friends, and
    ____________________________________________
    1
    18 Pa.C.S. § 3124.1.
    2
    18 Pa.C.S. § 6301(a)(1)(ii).
    J-S31004-15
    urged her to leave school to hang out with him, drink alcohol
    and smoke marijuana. S.R. agreed to leave school early and
    met [Appellant] at a bridge near the school. Before they met,
    [Appellant] asked S.R., “You are coming by yourself, right? Not
    with nobody else?” S.R. did not know they were going to Mr.
    Rivera’s [Appellant’s Co-Defendant at trial] home or that they
    would be renting a motel room.
    [Appellant] and S.R. walked to Mr. Rivera’s home, where
    they started drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana.          S.R.
    stated she drank approximately half a bottle of brandy and was
    intoxicated. At one point, [Appellant] left Mr. Rivera’s residence
    to get more alcohol, leaving S.R. alone with Mr. Rivera. Mr.
    Rivera began pressuring S.R. for oral sex, which made her feel
    uncomfortable, and she sent a message to [Appellant] telling
    him that Mr. Rivera was “creeping [her] out.”          [Appellant]
    replied, promising her he would take care of it.
    When [Appellant] returned to Mr. Rivera’s house, S.R. and
    Mr. Rivera left. Mr. Rivera purchased Xanax pills and rented a
    room at the Ephrata Motel, where S.R. thought they were going
    to drink. S.R. took some Xanax pills and was feeling intoxicated
    as a result of the alcohol, marijuana and Xanax. S.R. testified
    that while in the motel room, Mr. Rivera assaulted her, engaging
    in anal intercourse without her consent. As a result, she was
    physically hurt, bleeding and had fecal matter coming out of her.
    S.R. went into the small shower to clean up, and Mr. Rivera
    assaulted her again in the shower by forcing her to have oral
    intercourse with him.
    S.R. was seated on the floor in the corner of the shower
    with her head down when [Appellant] entered the bathroom.
    She testified that [Appellant] “forced [her] to do the same thing
    [have oral sex with him]” and engaged in anal intercourse with
    her. She testified that she was in pain and felt betrayed,
    powerless and used since she “was blocked in the shower with
    nowhere to go,” and that she did not tell [Appellant] to stop
    because “at that point [she] had given up.”
    S.R. left the bathroom to get her clothes, returned to the
    bathroom to get dressed and then returned to the room and sat
    on the bed, where Mr. Rivera assaulted her a third time. S.R.
    got dressed again and [Appellant] came back into the motel
    room with a third man, who tried to remove her clothing. When
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    the third man attempted to remove her clothing, S.R. resisted
    and left the motel room.
    During the course of the incident, S.R. had been sending
    text messages to Joseph Klepchick telling him what was
    happening. Mr. Klepchick met S.R. across the street after she
    left the motel room. When S.R. met Mr. Klepchick, she was
    crying and screaming at [Appellant] to get away from her.
    [Appellant], who was walking about 10 feet behind S.R., told Mr.
    Klepchick that “he wasn’t going to go down for this. He wasn’t
    going to go down for rape.” The next day, [Appellant] sent a
    text message to S.R. and apologized to her, stating “I didn’t
    think it would go down the way it did.”
    On cross-examination, S.R. admitted she voluntarily left
    school on May 1, 2013, to drink with [Appellant], and that she
    was not forced or threatened to drink, smoke marijuana, or
    consume Xanax.
    On May 2, 2013, after the incident was reported, police
    took photographs of the motel room and collected evidence,
    including the towels and bed linens. The shower in the motel
    bathroom was approximately three feet by three feet, but the
    entrance was partially blocked by the bathroom sink which
    protruded 17 inches from the wall. Blood and fecal matter were
    found on towels and S.R.’s jeans.
    On the same date, Kyle Wojiechowski, R.N., performed a
    3
    SAFE examination of S.R. at Lancaster General Hospital. He
    documented several injuries to her anal and genital regions
    consistent with her description of the assaults.
    3
    During a SAFE examination, a trained nurse examines
    and collects evidence from a person who reports being
    sexually assaulted.
    [Appellant] was interviewed by the Ephrata Borough police
    on May 7, 2013, May 21, 2013, and June 6, 2013. The audio
    recordings of these interviews were admitted into evidence and
    played during the course of the trial. During these interviews,
    [Appellant] admitted that he and Mr. Rivera plied S.R. with
    alcohol, marijuana and Xanax, and it was obvious that S.R. was
    intoxicated. [Appellant] also told the police he knew that Mr.
    Rivera had raped S.R., and that [Appellant] saw blood and fecal
    matter coming out of S.R. Despite this, he engaged in oral and
    anal sex with her while she was in the shower.
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    Trial Court Opinion (T.C.O.), at 7-10.
    On March 6, 2014, at the conclusion of a bench trial, Appellant was
    found guilty and sentenced as stated above. He was found not guilty on the
    remaining eight counts against him.3             Appellant filed a timely notice of
    appeal and complied with the trial court’s order to file a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b)
    statement. The trial court issued its Rule 1925(a) opinion on December 1,
    2014. Appellant now presents the following issues for our review:
    I.     Was the evidence presented at trial insufficient to find
    Appellant guilty of the crimes of sexual assault and
    corruption of minors, a felony of the third degree where
    the victim gave no indication the sexual contact was not
    wanted and the Commonwealth established no course of
    conduct in violation of Chapter 31 (relating to sexual
    offenses)?
    II.    Alternatively, was the trial court’s finding that Appellant
    was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the crimes of
    sexual assault and corruption of minors against the weight
    of the evidence?
    III.   Did the court abuse its discretion by denying Appellant the
    ability to cross-examine the victim regarding her use of
    alcohol and Xanax together only four days after the
    incident in question?
    ____________________________________________
    3
    Appellant was charged with two counts of involuntary deviate sexual
    intercourse by forcible compulsion, 18 Pa.C.S. § 3123(a)(1); two counts of
    involuntary deviate sexual intercourse by threat of forcible compulsion, 18
    Pa.C.S. § 3123(a)(2); one count of rape by forcible compulsion, 18 Pa.C.S. §
    3121(a)(1); one count of rape by threat of forcible compulsion, 18 Pa.C.S. §
    3121(a)(2); one count of sexual assault, 18 Pa.C.S. § 3124.1; one count of
    corruption of minors, 18 Pa.C.S. § 6301(a)(1)(ii); one count of unlawful
    contact with a minor, 18 Pa.C.S. § 6318(a)(1); and one count of criminal
    conspiracy, 18 Pa.C.S. § 903.
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    Appellant’s Brief, at 4.
    Sufficiency of the Evidence
    Appellant presents a sufficiency argument for each of the two offenses
    which we shall address in turn. For the offense of sexual assault, Appellant
    contends that both the consent and mens rea elements were insufficiently
    established. Appellant also challenges the definition of the term “course of
    conduct” as it applies to corruption of minors.
    We review Appellant’s challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence
    under the following, well-settled standard of review:
    A claim challenging the sufficiency of the evidence is a question
    of law. Evidence will be deemed sufficient to support the verdict
    when it establishes each material element of the crime charged
    and the commission thereof by the accused, beyond a
    reasonable doubt. Where the evidence offered to support the
    verdict is in contradiction to the physical facts, in contravention
    to human experience and the laws of nature, then the evidence
    is insufficient as a matter of law. When reviewing a sufficiency
    claim the court is required to view the evidence in the light most
    favorable to the verdict winner giving the prosecution the benefit
    of all reasonable inferences to be drawn from the evidence.
    Commonwealth v. Widmer, 
    744 A.2d 745
    , 751-52 (Pa. 2000) (internal
    citations omitted).
    Sexual Assault
    The offense of sexual assault is defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 3124.1, which
    provides that, “a person commits a felony of the second degree when that
    person engages in sexual intercourse or deviate sexual intercourse with a
    complainant without the complainant's consent.”          The Commonwealth,
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    therefore, was required to prove that Appellant had sexual intercourse with
    S.R., that S.R. did not consent, and that Appellant acted intentionally,
    knowingly or recklessly concerning S.R.’s lack of consent.4      That Appellant
    and victim had sexual intercourse is not in dispute.
    Consent
    As to the element of consent, Appellant argues that no fact-finder
    could reasonably have determined that the victim did not consent, given the
    following version of events:
    Not only was there insufficient evidence to find beyond a
    reasonable doubt that S.R. did not consent to intercourse with
    Appellant, while not required, there is sufficient evidence to find
    that S.R. did consent [emphasis in original]. She voluntarily
    went to a hotel room. She went into the manager’s office to
    assist in the rental. She said nothing to the hotel manager. She
    voluntarily took off her own clothing. She engaged in sex with
    Mr. Rivera without objection, verbal or physical. She went to the
    shower and did the same. Appellant entered the shower and the
    two engaged in oral and anal intercourse, all without any
    objection. She never said to stop, she did not scream in pain,
    she never said no, she never tried to get away, she did not resist
    physically. Appellant made no threats toward her. Appellant
    used no physical force. Once outside the bathroom, and not
    “blocked in”, as the Commonwealth claims, she did not leave.
    S.R.’s first “nonconsent” came when a third man entered the
    room. She immediately said no, pushed him away, and left. It
    does not mesh to believe that five minutes earlier, when in
    control of her thoughts, S.R. makes no verbal or physical sign of
    nonconsent, but shortly thereafter shows her first sign of
    ____________________________________________
    4
    See 18 Pa.C.S. § 302(a), which provides that mens rea must be
    established with respect to each material element of the offense. See also
    18 Pa.C.S. 302(c) (stating that when a statute remains silent as to the
    degree of culpability required, such element is established if a person acts
    intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly).
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    nonconsent and the event ceases. Likewise, to find S.R. “gave
    up” while with Appellant, would be to say that she had expressed
    some resistance or denial earlier.
    Appellant’s Brief, at 15.
    This Court has construed silence, without more to suggest otherwise,
    as evidence of consent.      “In rape prosecutions, evidence of the [alleged
    victim]   should   be   carefully   considered   in   determining   whether   she
    consented, and ordinarily proof of failure to make an outcry, offer resistance
    and complain tends to show consent.” Commonwealth v. Goodman, 
    126 A.2d 763
    , 765-66 (Pa. Super. 1956).          Appellant asserts, “find[ing] that
    sufficient evidence supported the trial court’s verdict would be to find that
    any person, after any regrettable sexual encounter, could have her
    counterpart convicted of sexual assault if she later decided that act was
    unwanted.” Appellant’s Brief, at 16.
    However, the victim’s silence in this case was not the only evidence
    related to consent.      This Court has long held that the uncorroborated
    testimony of a sexual assault victim is sufficient to convict a defendant.
    Commonwealth v. Charlton, 
    902 A.2d 554
    , 562 (Pa. Super. 2006)
    (citation omitted). Additionally, the fact-finder was free to rely entirely on
    the victim’s characterization of the events when she said that she was
    “forced,” indicating a lack of consent. Commonwealth v. Adrulewicz, 
    911 A.2d 162
    , 166 (Pa. Super. 2006). Equally important, it is not requisite that
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    a victim actively resist in order for there to be a lack of consent. 18 Pa.C.S.
    § 3107.5 Finally, the victim provided the following version of events:
    Q:   When you say you had fecal matter coming out of you, can
    you tell me - - strike that. You stated you had gone into the
    shower. Can you tell me what happened next?
    A:   After I was in the shower for a little bit, then [Co-
    Defendant] came in and he forced me to have oral sex with him.
    Q:   After that happened with [Co-Defendant], can you tell me
    then what happened next?
    A:   I was sitting in the corner of the shower with my head
    down and then [Appellant] came in.
    Q:     And what happened after [Appellant] came in?
    A:     He forced me to do the same thing.
    Q:   When you say, he forced me to do the same thing, what
    do you mean?
    A:     Oral sex.
    Q:     Then what happened?
    A:    And then I got up, he turned me around then had anal sex
    with me.
    N.T., at 24-26.
    S.R. provided more than just an attestation at trial that she did not
    consent. When viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict winner, the
    evidence shows that, after Co-Defendant sexually assaulted her, the victim
    ____________________________________________
    5
    See 18 Pa.C.S. § 3107, which provides as follows: “The alleged victim
    need not resist the actor in prosecutions under this chapter: Provided,
    however, that nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a
    defendant from introducing evidence that the alleged victim consented to
    the conduct in question.”
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    retreated to the shower to clean herself of blood and excrement. After Co-
    Defendant sexually assaulted her a second time, Appellant entered the
    bathroom and “forced” himself upon her twice. It is reasonable to infer from
    the testimony that the victim’s silence was not due to active participation.
    Accordingly, we find the evidence sufficient to support the finding of lack of
    consent.
    Mens Rea
    Appellant further contends that there was insufficient evidence of the
    mens rea element. The Commonwealth was required to prove that Appellant
    acted intentionally, knowingly or recklessly concerning S.R.’s lack of
    consent.     Appellant argues that, “[e]ven if found there was sufficient
    evidence to find that S.R. did not consent, it is clear from the preceding
    recitation of facts that Appellant received no sign, signal, or indication,
    verbal, or physical, of her nonconsent.” Appellant’s Brief, at 16.
    We recognize that sexual assault contemplates a form of rape where
    force is not a factor.6 To establish the requisite intent, the Commonwealth
    does not need to show force or affirmative resistance; rather, evidence that
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    6
    18 Pa.C.S. § 3124.1 is a newly enacted statute, which was drafted in
    response to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision in Commonwealth
    v. Berkowitz, 
    641 A.2d 1161
     (Pa. 1994). The statute is intended to fill the
    loophole left by the rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse statues
    by criminalizing non-consensual sex where the perpetrator employs little or
    no force. Commonwealth v. Pasley, 
    743 A.2d 521
    , 523 n.3 (Pa. Super.
    1999).
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    Appellant disregarded a substantial risk that the victim did not consent to
    the sexual activities is sufficient.7 With regard to this element, the trial court
    found as follows:
    Despite knowing S.R. was extremely intoxicated and having seen
    the blood stain on the bed and the blood and fecal matter
    coming out of her body, [Appellant] nonetheless engaged in oral
    and anal intercourse with S.R. without her consent. S.R. was
    huddled on the floor in the corner of the three foot square
    shower stall when [Appellant] entered the shower, and she was
    blocked in the shower by the sink and by [Appellant]. S.R.
    explained she did not resist [Appellant] because she had “given
    up” after what had occurred with [Co-Defendant]. She also
    testified how she was in pain and felt betrayed and used by
    [Appellant].
    T.C.O., at 10-11.
    As summarized by the trial court, when viewed in the light most
    favorable to the verdict winner, the evidence establishes sufficient support
    for the fact-finder to infer that Appellant disregarded the substantial risk that
    the victim did not consent. Accordingly, we find the evidence sufficient to
    support the verdict.
    Corruption of Minors
    ____________________________________________
    7
    “A person acts recklessly with respect to a material element of an offense
    when he consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the
    material element exists or will result from his conduct. The risk must be of
    such a nature and degree that, considering the nature and intent of the
    actor's conduct and the circumstances known to him, its disregard involves a
    gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would
    observe in the actor's situation.” 18 Pa.C.S. § 302(b)(3).
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    Appellant also contends that the evidence does not sufficiently prove
    corruption of minors.8        The essence of Appellant’s argument is that the
    necessary element, “course of conduct,” requires multiple actions, and that
    the sexual assault at issue is singular in action.9
    In his brief, Appellant posits the following argument to support his
    contention:
    A course of conduct is a “pattern of actions composed of more
    than one act over a period of time, however short, evidencing a
    continuity of conduct.” 18 Pa.C.S. § 2709(f). As discussed at
    length in Commonwealth v. Kelly, 
    102 A.3d 1025
     (Pa. Super.
    2014), the term course of conduct requires multiple acts over
    time in violation of Chapter 31. In Kelly the defendant touched
    the genital of a minor while he bathed the minor. The Superior
    Court found this evidence to be insufficient to find defendant
    guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
    Appellant engaged in one sexual encounter with S.R. in violation
    of Chapter 31. The encounter took place in the bathroom of the
    Ephrata Motel and lasted approximately 5-10 minutes. There
    was no evidence presented that suggested Appellant had
    encouraged S.R. to engage in any other sexual acts with Mr.
    Rivera. Conversely, the evidence established that Appellant was
    not around when the motel room was rented, did not provide
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    8
    The elements of the offense are: first, that the defendant was eighteen
    years old or older at the time of the crime; second, that the minor victim
    was under eighteen years of age at the time of the crime; and third, that the
    defendant corrupted or tended to corrupt the morals of the minor by
    engaging in a course of conduct in violation of Chapter 31. 18 Pa.C.S. §
    6301(a)(1)(ii).
    9
    Appellant also argues that this offense must fail because it is contingent
    upon a Chapter 31 violation which he avers was deficient. Because we find
    sexual assault sufficiently proven, the argument that insufficiency of sexual
    assault is tantamount to insufficiency of the corruption charge as well is
    moot.
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    J-S31004-15
    S.R. with any Xanax, and was not in the room for S.R.’s sexual
    interactions with Mr. Rivera.
    Appellant’s Brief, at 17-18 (citations to the record omitted).
    In response, the Commonwealth points out that the Kelly court
    allowed that the acts constituting a “course of conduct” may occur over a
    short time span.        Appellee’s Brief, at 26.   Instead of constituting one
    continuous act, the Commonwealth argues that the forced oral sex and
    subsequent anal sex should constitute separate actions. Id., at 27.
    To distinguish the case at bar from Kelly, we agree with the
    Commonwealth that Appellant engaged in two distinct acts of sexual
    assault.10 Forcing S.R. to have oral sex with him constituted the first sexual
    assault.   Forcing her to have anal sex with him, however short the time
    between the acts may have been, constituted a distinct, second sexual
    assault. That alone is enough to satisfy the “course of conduct” element of
    the offense.     In addition, when viewed in the light most favorable to the
    verdict winner, the record provides that Appellant encouraged the victim to
    ____________________________________________
    10
    It was not requisite for Appellant to have been charged separately for
    each act in order for the fact-finder to determine that distinct Chapter 31
    offenses had occurred. “Inconsistent verdicts, while often perplexing, are
    not considered mistakes and do not constitute a basis for reversal. Rather,
    the rationale for allowing inconsistent verdicts is that it is the [fact-finder]'s
    sole prerogative to decide on which counts to convict in order to provide a
    defendant with sufficient punishment.” Commonwealth v. Stokes, 
    38 A.3d 846
    , 855 (Pa. Super. 2011) (citations omitted). “Thus, this Court will
    not disturb guilty verdicts on the basis of apparent inconsistencies as long as
    there is sufficient evidence to support the verdict.” Commonwealth v.
    Petteway, 
    847 A.2d 713
    , 718 (Pa. Super. 2004).
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    J-S31004-15
    leave school, drink alcohol, and smoke marijuana, which culminated in
    violations by both Co-Defendant and Appellant against the victim.          The
    evidence thus sufficiently allows the trial court to adduce that Appellant
    aided, abetted, enticed, or encouraged multiple violations of Chapter 31.
    The element is therefore satisfied under either interpretation of Kelly.
    Accordingly, we find the evidence sufficient to support the corruption of
    minors verdict.
    Weight of the Evidence
    Appellant challenges the weight of the evidence regarding the two
    offenses. He avers that the trial court must have established the element of
    lack of consent from the testimony of the SAFE nurse and the victim’s friend,
    Joseph Klepchick, in direct contradiction to the testimony of the victim
    herself. The SAFE nurse testified that the victim’s anal and genital regions
    had sustained injuries consistent with her description. Mr. Klepchick testified
    that Appellant had said, “He was not going down for rape.” It is Appellant’s
    theory that this testimony goes impermissibly against the testimony of the
    victim, that she specifically did not express lack of consent.
    We review Appellant’s challenge to the weight of the evidence
    according to the following standards:
    The weight of the evidence is exclusively for the finder of fact
    who is free to believe all, part, or none of the evidence and to
    determine the credibility of the witnesses. An appellate court
    cannot substitute its judgment for that of the finder of fact.
    Thus, we may only reverse the lower court's verdict if it is so
    contrary to the evidence as to shock one's sense of justice.
    Moreover, where the trial court has ruled on the weight claim
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    below, an appellate court's role is not to consider the underlying
    question of whether the verdict is against the weight of the
    evidence. Rather, appellate review is limited to whether the trial
    court palpably abused its discretion in ruling on the weight claim.
    Commonwealth v. Champney, 
    832 A.2d 403
    , 408 (Pa. 2003) (citations
    omitted).
    “An abuse of discretion is not merely an error of judgment,
    but if in reaching a conclusion the law is overridden or
    misapplied,  or    the   judgment     exercised    is   manifestly
    unreasonable, or the result of partiality, prejudice, bias, or ill-
    will, as shown by the evidence or the record, discretion is
    abused.”
    Commonwealth v. Stollar, 
    84 A.3d 635
    , 650 (Pa. 2014) (citations
    omitted).
    As noted above, the uncorroborated testimony of the victim is
    sufficient to convict.   Charlton, 
    902 A.2d at 562
    . Further, the fact-finder
    was free to believe the victim independent of any other witnesses.
    Andrulewicz, 
    911 A.2d at 166
    .         Additionally, the victim did not have to
    express her lack of consent. 18 Pa.C.S. § 3107. Upon review of the record,
    we do not find the SAFE nurse or Mr. Klepchick contradicted the victim’s
    testimony.     Therefore, in order for us to conclude that the verdict was
    against the weight of the evidence, the trial court’s decision must have been
    due to partiality or prejudice.
    The verdict reveals no such abuse of discretion.       To the contrary,
    finding Appellant not guilty of the other offenses signals a distinct lack of
    bias.    Appellant was charged with rape by forcible compulsion, which
    requires a finding of force.      The lesser included offense, sexual assault,
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    requires no such showing.     Because the trial court interpreted the “force”
    that the victim testified to as connoting a lack of consent rather than
    denoting a use of force, Appellant was found guilty only of the lesser
    included offense.    This use of discretion by the trial court compels us to
    conclude that it actively considered the evidence presented and rendered its
    judgment impartially.    Accordingly, we find the trial court did not err in
    concluding that the verdict was not against the weight of the evidence.
    Exclusion of Evidence
    Appellant contends that the trial court committed an abuse of
    discretion by not allowing him to question the victim as to her use of alcohol
    and Xanax a few days after the event at issue. He argues that this evidence
    was important in showing that she had a history of alcohol and drug use and
    that the use of the intoxicants days after the incident supports the
    proposition that she consented to the acts.       Appellant is referencing the
    following relevancy objection sustained during trial:
    Q. [Defense Counsel]: In fact, do you recall three days after
    this incident that - -
    [Assistant District Attorney]: Objection, Your Honor.   Relevance
    as to the time and date of the offense.
    [The Court]:            Your response []?
    [Defense Counsel]:     A big part of the Commonwealth’s case is
    going to be that she was drugged and drinking alcohol. And
    especially the use of alcohol with Xanax together, I think it’s
    important to establish this wasn’t the first time she drank and
    she knows what the effects of this are.
    [The Court]:             Does this incident afterwards involve
    your client or this other individual []?
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    [Defense Counsel]:      No, it doesn’t. It is a text message.
    [The Court]:            To whom?
    [Defense Counsel]:      To    neither    [Appellant]    or      [Co-
    Defendant].
    [The Court]:            You can ask her about her experience
    mixing these various substances, but what happened with other
    people I don’t see the relevance of that, especially if it is after
    the events in question.
    [Defense Counsel]:      Okay, Your Honor.
    [The Court]:            The objection is sustained.
    N.T., 3/4/14, at 32-33.
    We apply the following standard of review: “Questions of the
    admission and exclusion of evidence are within the sound discretion of the
    trial court and will not be reversed on appeal absent an abuse of discretion.”
    Commonwealth v. Kendricks, 
    30 A.3d 499
    , 503 (Pa. Super. 2011)
    (citation omitted). “An abuse of discretion is not merely an error of
    judgment, but the misapplication or overriding of the law or the exercise of a
    manifestly unreasonable judgment based upon partiality, prejudice or ill
    will.” Commonwealth v. Charleston, 
    16 A.3d 505
    , 526 (Pa. Super. 2011)
    (citation omitted).
    Evidence is relevant if it has any tendency to make a fact more of less
    probable than it would be without the evidence; and, the fact is of
    consequence in determining the action. Pa.R.E. 401.
    First, the trial court did allow questioning of the victim regarding her
    prior use of alcohol and Xanax. The evidence of her subsequent use does
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    J-S31004-15
    not tend to make that fact more or less probable.            Second, although
    Appellant argues that this evidence goes to support the theory that the
    victim was fabricating the lack of consent, there is nothing in the record
    which leads us to conclude that this evidence would further that line of
    inquiry. Finally, we note that the voluntariness of the victim’s intoxication is
    not material to the case at bar. Consequently, we find that the trial court
    did not abuse its discretion in excluding the evidence of intoxication after the
    incident.
    For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the judgment of sentence.
    Judgment of sentence AFFIRMED.
    Judgment Entered.
    Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
    Prothonotary
    Date: 6/26/2015
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