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State v. Bauer1/15/2002
istmas presents and appeared angry and upset. Amanda told no one of the alleged incest during the subsequent weeks.
Bauer returned to Anaconda on January 21, 2000. He again stated on his travel permit that he planned to stay with his sister. This time, however, Janet knew nothing of Bauer's visit. According to Amanda's testimony, Bauer arrived at her apartment in the late afternoon with a case of beer, travel bag and television set. Amanda testified Bauer touched her sexually, poured beer down her clothes and coerced her to drink alcohol and take pills. In anticipation of Bauer's visit, Amanda arranged for a number of friends to come by her apartment and check on her that evening. Bauer refused to let anyone in the apartment and posted a note on the door stating that Amanda wanted no visitors. As an excuse to get Bauer out of her apartment, Amanda asked him to buy her a cappuccino at a convenience store located on the edge of town. Once alone, Amanda immediately telephoned her mother, who directed her to call the police.
Two officers from the Anaconda-Deer Lodge Police Department arrived at the scene before Bauer returned in his vehicle with the coffees. The officers testified that Amanda was highly distraught and wanted them to make her father leave. Amanda said nothing about any inappropriate touching at this time. The police discovered Bauer was on probation and presumed correctly that he was prohibited from consuming alcohol as a condition of release. Although Bauer denied drinking, the officers administered a field sobriety test, which Bauer failed. One officer took Bauer to the station, where a breath test showed a .07 alcohol level, which is below the presumptive level of impairment. The police did not charge Bauer with driving under the influence and released him to his mother, who accompanied Bauer back to Townsend that night.
Three days later, Bauer sent letters to Amanda and Amanda's mother in which Bauer accused Amanda of drug abuse, threatened to sever all contact between Amanda and Bauer's extended family, discussed suicide, and blamed Amanda for his decision to withhold the birthday gifts he promised to Amanda and Nicole. Bauer wrote that he learned compassion and caring during his 17 years in prison and urged Amanda's mother to encourage Amanda to visit him in Townsend. Several days afterward, Amanda disclosed the incest to her mother and to law enforcement authorities. The ensuing investigation led to a charge against Bauer on April 19, 2000, on one count of incest under § 45-5-507(1), MCA. The information was later amended to include the offenses of January 21, 2000, consisting of a second count of incest and one count of unlawful transactions with children under § 45-5-623, MCA.
At the conclusion of a three-day trial, the jury convicted Chester Bauer of one count of incest with Amanda for the 1999 Christmas Eve incident, and found him not guilty on the two other counts. The District Court denied Bauer's motion for a directed verdict or, in the alternative, a new trial. The court sentenced Bauer to life imprisonment, with an additional 20 years as a persistent felony offender, and declared Bauer ineligible for parole due to his criminal history and predatory sexual behavior.
ISSUE 1
Did the District Court err by denying a motion for a directed verdict of acquittal on the basis of insufficiency of evidence?
We review the sufficiency of evidence to support a jury verdict to determine whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Merrick, 2000 MT 124,
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