Amjab Salhab v. State of Indiana

FILED
Aug 10 2020, 10:10 am
CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Valerie K. Boots Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
Daniel I. Hageman Attorney General of Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana Tina L. Mann
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Amjab Salhab, August 10, 2020
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
19A-CR-3059
v. Appeal from the Marion Superior
Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Sheila A. Carlisle,
Appellee-Plaintiff. Judge
The Honorable Stanley E. Kroh,
Magistrate
Trial Court Cause No.
49G03-1811-F3-38212
Riley, Judge.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 19A-CR-3059 | August 10, 2020 Page 1 of 13
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
[1] Appellant-Defendant, Amjad Salhab (Salhab), appeals following his conviction
for three Counts of rape, Level 3 felonies, Ind. Code § 35-42-4-1(a)(1); and child
seduction by a guardian, a Level 5 felony, I.C. § 35-42-4-7(m).
[2] We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.
ISSUES
[3] Salhab presents this court with three issues, which we restate as:
(1) Whether his conviction for rape by digital penetration
violates the continuous crime doctrine;
(2) Whether the trial court abused its discretion when it imposed
consecutive sentences for his rape convictions; and
(3) Whether a condition of his probation is unconstitutionally
overbroad.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
[4] Salhab was a friend of the father of seventeen-year-old Z.R. Around October
26, 2018, Salhab became Z.R.’s de facto guardian when she came to live in the
home Salhab shared with his wife in Brownsburg, Indiana. Salhab was
employed delivering medicines to area facilities for senior citizens in his van.
Salhab’s wife worked at a nursing home facility. Salhab and his wife both
worked night shifts.
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[5] On October 30, 2018, Salhab left for work around 9:30 p.m. but returned home
shortly thereafter and asked Z.R. if she wanted to get something to eat and ride
along with him while he made his deliveries. Z.R. agreed to go. Salhab’s first
delivery was at his wife’s workplace in Brownsburg. Salhab directed Z.R. to
duck down so that his wife would not see that Z.R. was with him, and Z.R.
complied.
[6] Salhab then drove to his next delivery at an assisted living facility in the 2800
block of South Churchman Avenue in Marion County, Indiana. During the
drive, Salhab asked Z.R. if she would have sex with him, and Z.R. refused.
Upon arrival at the assisted living facility, Salhab drove to the back of the
building and parked his van. Salhab climbed into the seat behind the driver’s
seat and told Z.R. to join him. Z.R. complied, whereupon Salhab pulled down
her pants and attempted to insert his penis in Z.R.’s vagina even though Z.R.
repeatedly told Salhab not to do so.
[7] Salhab also touched Z.R.’s chest with his hands, and he bit her chest and lips.
Salhab told Z.R. to pull her pants up, which she did. Salhab moved Z.R. to the
backseat passenger side of the van, where he forced her head and mouth onto
his penis. Salhab then turned Z.R. on her stomach and rubbed his penis against
her back above her buttocks until he ejaculated. Salhab gave Z.R. a napkin to
clean herself and then exited the van to make his scheduled delivery inside the
assisted living facility.
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[8] As soon as Salhab left the van, Z.R. called 911 and reported that she had been
raped. When Salhab returned to the van after making his delivery, he was
taken into custody by responding officers. Z.R. provided a statement to
investigators who noted that her lip was so swollen that it impacted her ability
to speak clearly. After receiving his Miranda advisements and signing a waiver
of his rights, Salhab stated in a recorded interview that he was aware that Z.R.
was seventeen years old. Salhab admitted that he had engaged in sexual
intercourse and oral sex with Z.R. in his van and that he had rubbed his penis
against her until he ejaculated. Salhab also admitted that he had penetrated
Z.R.’s vagina and anus with his fingers, specifying that he had penetrated her
anus with his finger because “he thought it would make her happy if he did
that, that it make [sic] him cum[.]” (Transcript Vol. II, p. 216). Z.R.
underwent a sexual assault examination. Swabs taken from Z.R.’s internal and
external genitalia, anus, and a bitemark on her left breast showed the presence
of Salhab’s DNA.
[9] On November 2, 2018, the State filed an Information, charging Salhab with
three Counts of Level 3 felony rape, one for forced sexual intercourse, one for
forced oral sex, and one for forced digital penetration. The State also charged
Salhab with Level 5 felony child seduction, Level 5 felony criminal
confinement, and Level 6 felony child seduction. On November 14, 2019, the
trial court convened Salhab’s two-day jury trial. The jury found Salhab guilty
as charged.
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[10] On December 3, 2019, the trial court held Salhab’s sentencing hearing. Due to
double jeopardy concerns, the trial court vacated Salhab’s convictions for Level
5 felony child seduction and Level 5 felony criminal confinement. The trial
court found as a mitigating circumstance that Salhab had no history of criminal
convictions. The trial court found as aggravating circumstances that Salhab
had caused Z.R. injury; Z.R. was in his care, custody and control at the time of
the offenses as her de facto guardian; and the nature and circumstances of the
offenses were aggravating. The trial court sentenced Salhab to eight years for
each of the Level 3 felony rapes, with two years suspended from each of those
individual sentences, and to one year for his Level 6 felony child seduction
conviction. The trial court order Salhab to serve his three rape sentences
consecutively because it believed “from the evidence that these were distinct
acts” and because the “significant” aggravating circumstance of his having care,
custody, and control over Z.R. merited the imposition of consecutive sentences.
(Tr. Vol. III, p. 80). The trial court ordered Salhab to serve his one-year child
seduction conviction concurrently, for an aggregate sentence of twenty-four
years, and it ordered Salhab to serve three years of probation. Condition No.
21 of Salhab’s probation order (Condition No. 21), prohibited him from, among
other things, visiting “businesses that sell sexual devices or aids.” (Appellant’s
App. Vol. III, p. 5).
[11] Salhab now appeals. Additional facts will be provided as necessary.
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DISCUSSION AND DECISION
I. Continuous Crime Doctrine
[12] Salhab contends that the continuous crime doctrine bars his conviction for rape
by digital penetration. More specifically, Salhab argues that his conviction for
rape by digital penetration cannot stand because there was no evidence that the
offense occurred separately from his sexual intercourse oral sex offenses. We
examine the issue of whether convictions run afoul of the continuous crime
doctrine as one of pure law requiring a de novo review. Hines v. State, 30 N.E.3d
1216, 1219 (Ind. 2015).
[13] In Hines, our supreme court clarified that the
continuous crime doctrine is a rule of statutory construction and
common law limited to situations where a defendant has been
charged multiple times with the same offense. The continuous
crime doctrine does not seek to reconcile the double jeopardy
implications of two distinct chargeable crimes; rather, it defines
those instances where a defendant’s conduct amounts only to a
single chargeable crime. The Legislature, not this Court, defines
when a criminal offense is “continuous,” e.g. not terminated by a
single act or fact but subsisting for a definite period and covering
successive, similar occurrences.
Id. (quotes and cites omitted). The court held that the doctrine only applies
where the defendant “has been charged multiple times with the same
‘continuous’ offense.” Id. at 1220. The Hines court disagreed with Buchanan v.
State, 913 N.E.2d 712, 720-21 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009), trans. denied, which applied
the doctrine to the two distinct criminal offenses of false reporting and
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intimidation, and it noted that Nunn v. State, 695 N.E.2d 124, 125 (Ind. Ct.
App. 1998), trans. denied, upon which Buchanan had relied, “too broadly
paraphrased precedent when it stated, ‘[O]ur decisions have long recognized
that actions which are sufficient in themselves to constitute separate criminal
offenses may be so compressed . . . as to constitute a single transaction.’” Id. at
1220.
[14] Since Hines was decided, this court held in Dilts v. State, 49 N.E.3d 617, 631-32
(Ind. Ct. App. 2015), trans. denied, that the continuous crime doctrine did not
apply to bar convictions for two Counts of Class A felony child molestation,
where one was charged as sexual intercourse and one was charged as deviate
sexual conduct, and where the evidence showed that the molestation took place
on different days. We also examined the continuous crime doctrine in Heckard
v. State, 118 N.E.3d 823, 825 (Ind. Ct. App. 2019), trans. denied, where Heckard
was convicted of two counts of Level 1 felony child molesting by other sexual
conduct involving D.K. Count I of the Information alleged that Heckard
performed oral sex on D.K., while Count II of the Information alleged that
Heckard submitted to oral sex with D.K. Id. at 826. Both of these acts
occurred during the same incident in the same location, a bathroom. Id. at 825.
Heckard argued that his dual convictions could not stand, as his actions had
been “so compressed in terms of time, place, and singleness of purpose and
continuity of action as to constitute a single transaction” and that he had been
convicted of the same continuous offense because he had been charged under
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the same ‘other sexual conduct’ portion of the child molesting statute. Id. at
830.
[15] Citing Dilts, we held that, because Heckard had been “convicted of two distinct,
chargeable crimes,” the continuous crime doctrine should not apply. Id. at 831.
However, even if the doctrine were arguably applicable because Heckard had
been charged twice with child molesting for ‘other sexual conduct’, focusing on
the specific actions alleged in the charging information, we concluded that the
doctrine had not been violated, as Heckard had been convicted of “two distinct
actions: one for performing a sexual act on D.K. and one for forcing D.K. to
perform a sexual act.” Id. at 832. Accordingly, we held that “even when
committed very close in time, two distinct child molestation offenses are
separate and distinct crimes.” Id. In affirming Heckard’s convictions, we noted
that “Heckard does not stand to benefit from the continuous crime doctrine for
his conduct merely because the [L]egislature has described both separate,
distinct actions under the same statute.” Id.
[16] Here, Salhab was convicted of three Counts of Level 1 felony rape. Indiana
Code section 35-42-4-1(a)(1) provides that rape occurs when a person
knowingly or intentionally has sexual intercourse with another
person or knowingly or intentionally causes another person to
perform or submit to other sexual conduct [] when [] the other
person is compelled by force or imminent threat of force[.]
[17] ‘Sexual intercourse’ is defined as any penetration of the female sex organ by the
male sex organ. I.C. § 35-31.5-2-302. ‘Other sexual conduct’ is defined as an
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act involving either a sex organ of one person and the mouth or anus of another
person or the penetration of the sex organ or anus of a person by an object. I.C.
§ 35-31.5-2-221.5. The State charged Salhab with rape for subjecting Z.R. to
sexual intercourse, oral sex, and digital penetration. Following Dilts and
Heckard, we conclude that these offenses, as charged, were not three examples
of the same offense but separate and distinct actions which were not barred by
the continuous crime doctrine, even though they were all charged under the
rape statute.
[18] Salhab’s reliance on Flores v. State, 114 N.E.3d 522 (Ind. Ct. App. 2018), trans.
not sought, does not persuade us otherwise. In Flores, the defendant was charged
with two Counts of Level 4 felony child molesting for simultaneously rubbing
his penis between C.G.’s buttocks and touching her vagina over her underwear.
Id. at 523. Another panel of this court held that his convictions for both Counts
violated the continuous crime doctrine. Relying on Hines, the Flores court
reasoned that “these acts were closely connected in time, place, and continuity
of action and therefore constitute a single transaction.” Id. at 524. However,
the Hines court noted that the “time, place, and continuity of action” language
came from its previous decisions analyzing whether a homicide occurring after
a robbery could be considered “continuous” for purposes of the felony-murder
statute, and the Hines court observed that decisions such as Nunn and Buchanan
had overly-broadly paraphrased and misapplied that precedent. Hines, 30
N.E.3d at 1220. Therefore, we conclude that our supreme court has clarified
that whether offenses are closely connected in time, place, and continuity of
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action is not dispositive in continuous crime doctrine analysis outside the
context of felony-murder.
[19] Even if such factors were dispositive, Flores is not helpful to Salhab, because,
contrary to his assertions, the State produced evidence at trial that showed that
his digital penetration offense was not simultaneous with the sexual intercourse
and oral sex offenses. Salhab told investigators that he ejaculated after he
rubbed his penis above Z.R.’s buttocks and that he when he placed his finger in
Z.R.’s anus, “it make [sic] him cum[.]” (Tr. Vol. II, p. 216). Given that there is
nothing in the record indicating that Salhab ejaculated more than once during
the offenses, this evidence showed that his digital penetration was not
simultaneous with the sexual intercourse and oral sex offenses. Accordingly,
we conclude that Salhab’s convictions for three counts of Level 3 felony rape
did not violate the continuous crime doctrine.
II. Consecutive Sentences
[20] Salhab argues that the trial court abused its discretion when it ordered him to
serve his sentences for his three rape convictions consecutively. So long as a
sentence imposed by a trial court is within the statutory range for the offense, it
is subject to review only for an abuse of discretion. Anglemyer v. State, 868
N.E.2d 482, 490 (Ind. 2007), clarified on reh’g, 875 N.E.2d 218 (Ind. 2007). An
abuse of the trial court’s sentencing discretion occurs if its decision is clearly
against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before the court, or
the reasonable, probable, and actual deductions to be drawn therefrom. Id., 868
N.E.2d at 490. A trial court abuses its discretion when it fails to enter a
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sentencing statement at all, its stated reasons for imposing sentence are not
supported by the record, its sentencing statement omits reasons that are clearly
supported by the record and advanced for consideration, or its reasons for
imposing sentence are improper as a matter of law. Id. at 490-91.
[21] The sentencing range for a Level 3 felony is between three and sixteen years,
with an advisory sentence of nine years. I.C. § 35-50-2-5(b). The trial court
imposed a below-advisory sentence of eight years for each of Salhab’s Level 3
felony rape convictions and ordered him to serve those individual sentences
consecutively. Salhab essentially argues that the trial court’s imposition of
below-advisory individual sentences shows that it found that the mitigators
outweighed the aggravators, and, thus, that it was an abuse of the trial court’s
discretion to impose consecutive sentences. However, Salhab’s argument is
based on an inaccurate premise, as the trial court did not find that the
mitigators outweighed the aggravators in his case; it made no statement
regarding its balancing of the aggravators and mitigators. In addition, after the
General Assembly adopted our present advisory sentencing scheme in 2005, a
trial court is no longer obligated to identify and weigh the aggravating and
mitigating circumstances upon rendering its sentence. Anglemyer, 868 N.E.2d at
491. Rather, it may impose any sentence authorized by law once it has entered
its sentencing statement. Id.; see also I.C. § 35-38-1-7.1(d). As a result, the
relative weight ascribed by the trial court to any aggravating and mitigating
circumstances is no longer subject to our review. Anglemyer, 868 N.E.2d at 491.
Salhab’s argument relying on the pre-Anglemyer decision Marcum v. State, 725
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N.E.2d 852, 864 (Ind. 2000), is unpersuasive because it is based on the
inaccurate assumption that the trial court was obligated to find that the
aggravators outweighed the mitigators in order to impose consecutive
sentences.
[22] Salhab also argues that the trial court abused its discretion when it found that
his position of care, custody, and control over Z.R. was an aggravating
circumstance meriting the imposition of consecutive sentences for his rape
convictions because the fact that he was Z.R.’s de facto guardian was an
element of his Level 6 felony child seduction offense. We agree with Salhab
that, as a general principle, a trial court abuses its discretion when it uses an
element of the offense as an aggravating circumstance to justify an enhanced
sentence. See Asher v. State, 790 N.E.2d 567, 570 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003) (finding
the trial court’s consideration of Asher’s position of trust with his victim upon
sentencing him for child seduction improper). However, Salhab’s care, custody
and control of Z.R. was not an element of the rape offenses, so that general
principle was not applicable to this case. We find no abuse of the trial court’s
sentencing discretion.
III. Condition No. 21
[23] The trial court suspended six years of Salhab’s sentence and ordered him to
serve three years of probation. Condition No. 21 ordered Salhab to refrain from
visiting “businesses that sell sexual devices or aids.” (Appellant’s App. Vol. III,
p. 5). Salhab argues that identical probation and parole conditions have already
been held to be unconstitutionally overbroad, and we agree. See Bleeke v.
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Lemmon, 6 N.E.3d 907, 921 n.8 (Ind. 2014) (parole condition); Custance v. State,
128 N.E.3d 8, 12 (Ind. Ct. App. 2019) (probation condition); Collins v. State, 911
N.E.2d 700, 714 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009) (probation condition), trans. denied.
Therefore, we reverse that portion of the trial court’s probation order and
remand with instructions to the trial court to clarify that portion of Condition
No. 21. See Custance, 128 N.E.3d at 12 (remanding identical probation
condition to the trial court for clarification).
CONCLUSION
[24] Based on the foregoing, we conclude that Salhab’s conviction and sentencing
for rape by digital penetration does not violate the continuous crime doctrine
and the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it imposed consecutive
sentences. However, we also conclude that the challenged portion of Condition
No. 21 is unconstitutionally overbroad.
[25] Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for further proceedings
consistent with this opinion.
[26] May, J. and Altice, J. concur
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