BROWN, Judge.
Betwel Birari appeals his conviction for attempted rape as a class B felony. Birari raises two issues which we revise and restate as:
We affirm.
The relevant facts follow. Birari and A.J. both worked at a nursing home as certified nursing assistants and became friends. Birari told A.J. that he wanted to take their friendship to the "next level," and A.J. indicated that she just wanted to remain friends. Transcript at 30. At one point, Birari sent A.J. a text message that stated: "I pray that we get married one day." Id. at 42. Later, he sent A.J. a text message that stated: "To be honest with you, I like you much but you treat me like trash. Am sorry...." Id. A.J. responded with a message that stated: "Well, I'm sorry you feel that way. I think you are immature. I told you from the beginning I only wanted to be friends. I do not have strong feelings for you and you can't understand that." Id. at 43.
On July 22, 2011, A.J. finished her shift at work at 11:00 p.m. and went to her mother's house with Birari. A.J. and Birari then went to pick up A.J.'s two-year-old cousin. The three then went to A.J.'s apartment which she shared with a roommate. A.J. had not discussed the possibility of taking her relationship with Birari to another level nor touched Birari in a romantic way during the evening.
It became late, and A.J. told Birari that he could stay over and that she would take him home in the morning. The apartment was not fully furnished and A.J. decided that Birari would sleep at the foot of the bed, A.J. would sleep in the middle, and her two-year-old cousin would sleep at the top of the bed. A.J. was wearing sweatpants and a tank top when she went to bed, and Birari was wearing sweatpants and a shirt.
Sometime after 4:00 a.m., A.J. went to sleep and later woke up and found Birari, who was wearing only boxer shorts, on top of her and "felt his penis near [her] vagina." Id. at 58-59. Specifically, A.J. felt his penis touching her bare skin and that "it seemed like he was trying to find" her vagina, but his penis did not enter her vagina. Id. at 83. A.J. realized that she was no longer wearing her sweatpants. A.J. asked Birari what he was doing and Birari attempted to put his arms around her and said, "[A.J.], no, no." Id. at 60. A.J. "got [Birari] off immediately," turned on the light, put her pants on, and started swinging her fists at him. Id. at 61. Birari said, "Just let me go, please. Just let
Once outside of the apartment, Birari, wearing only his boxer shorts, pushed back against the door. A.J. and her roommate were unable to close the door, and A.J. retrieved a knife to "try to get [Birari] away from the door." Id. at 66. A.J. chased Birari out of the building with the knife and she returned to the apartment. A.J.'s roommate called the police while A.J. was hyperventilating, and Birari yelled, "Please, don't call the police. Just kill me." Id. at 96. The police arrived and arrested him.
On July 26, 2011, the State charged Birari with two counts of attempted rape as class B felonies. The State later filed a motion to dismiss the first count, and the court granted the motion. Specifically, the State charged Birari with attempting to:
Appellant's Appendix at 40.
During the trial, A.J. and her roommate testified to the foregoing facts. A.J. testified that she felt Birari's penis near her vagina, that she felt his penis touching her bare skin and that "it seemed like he was trying to find" her vagina. Transcript at 83. During cross-examination, A.J. testified that Birari's penis had not touched her vagina at the point that she started striking him. The following exchange then occurred during redirect examination of A.J.:
Id. at 81-82.
After the State rested, Birari moved for a directed verdict. Birari's counsel argued:
Id. at 144. The court denied Birari's motion and stated:
Id. at 144-145.
During closing argument, Birari's counsel argued that there was no evidence that Birari touched A.J.'s vagina and that the word vagina is defined as "[t]he canal of a female mammal that leads from the uterus to the external orifice of the genital canal." Id. at 164. During rebuttal, the prosecutor argued that Birari "pulled his clothes off, pulled her pants off, took his bare penis and put it on her, whether it's her vagina or her vulva or her labia minora, majora." Id. at 173. The prosecutor stated that A.J. was telling the truth and "the only bright spot I can see, that [A.J.'s two-year-old cousin] didn't have to experience what he wanted her to. Whether or not he wanted her to watch, I don't know...." Id. at 159. The jury found Birari guilty as charged. The court sentenced Birari to eight years in the Department of Correction.
The first issue is whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain Birari's conviction for attempted rape as a class B felony. When reviewing claims of insufficiency of the evidence, we do not reweigh the evidence or judge the credibility of witnesses. Jordan v. State, 656 N.E.2d 816, 817 (Ind.1995), reh'g denied. Rather, we look to the evidence and the reasonable inferences therefrom that support the verdict. Id. We will affirm the conviction if there exists evidence of probative value from which a reasonable trier of fact could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. The uncorroborated testimony of one witness, even if it is the victim, is sufficient to sustain a conviction. Ferrell v. State, 565 N.E.2d 1070, 1072-1073 (Ind.1991).
The offense of rape is governed in this circumstance by Ind.Code § 35-42-4-1(2), which provides that "a person who knowingly or intentionally has sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex when ... the other person is unaware that the sexual intercourse is occurring... commits rape, a Class B felony." An attempt is defined by Ind.Code § 35-41-5-1, which states in part that "[a] person attempts to commit a crime when, acting with the culpability required for commission of the crime, he engages in conduct that constitutes a substantial step toward commission of the crime. An attempt to commit a crime is a felony or misdemeanor of the same class as the crime attempted." A "substantial step" toward the commission of a crime, for purposes of the crime of attempt, is any overt act beyond mere preparation and in furtherance of intent to commit an offense. Hughes v. State, 600 N.E.2d 130, 131 (Ind.Ct.App.1992). Whether a defendant has taken a substantial step toward the commission of the crime, so as to be guilty of attempt to commit that crime, is a question of fact to be decided by the trier of fact based on the particular circumstances of the case. Id. "[W]hen determining whether the defendant
Birari argues that the evidence is insufficient because: (A) there was a failure to prove the substantial step alleged in the charging information; (B) he did not have the intent to rape A.J.; and (C) A.J. was not unaware of the situation.
Birari argues that the charging information alleged that he rubbed his erect penis on A.J.'s bare vagina and that his conviction must be reversed because the State failed to prove the substantial step it specifically alleged in the charging information.
Birari essentially argues that there is a material variance between the charging information and the evidence produced at trial which resulted in insufficient evidence to convict him as charged. See Rupert v. State, 717 N.E.2d 1209, 1211-1212 (Ind.Ct. App.1999) (addressing the defendant's argument of whether a variance between the information and the evidence was fatal in the context of the issue of whether the evidence was insufficient to support the defendant's conviction). Thus, we will address Birari's argument as one of an alleged variance between the charging information and the proof at trial.
An information must be "a plain, concise, and definite written statement of the essential facts constituting the offense charged," Ind.Code § 35-34-1-2(d), and "must be sufficiently specific to apprise the defendant of the crime for which he is charged and to enable him to prepare a defense." Bonner v. State, 789 N.E.2d 491, 493 (Ind.Ct.App.2003) (quoting Jones v. State, 467 N.E.2d 1236, 1241 (Ind.Ct. App.1984)). "A criminal defendant has the right to be advised of the nature and cause of the accusation against him. There must
Mitchem v. State, 685 N.E.2d 671, 677 (Ind.1997) (quoting Harrison v. State, 507 N.E.2d 565, 566 (Ind.1987)).
We find Rupert v. State, 717 N.E.2d 1209 (Ind.Ct.App.1999), instructive. In Rupert, the State charged the defendant with committing child molesting by forcing a one-year-old child to submit to an act of "deviate sexual conduct, to-wit: fellatio." 717 N.E.2d at 1211. On appeal, the defendant argued that the State was constrained by the charging information to prove that he performed fellatio on the child to obtain a conviction, and that sucking and nibbling on the child's scrotum did not constitute fellatio. Id. The court held that "[a]ssuming without deciding that Rupert's actions did not constitute fellatio, we conclude that the variance between the charging information and the evidence presented at trial is not material." Id. The court observed that the defendant's defense was not prejudiced by the charging information as the defendant was well aware of the allegedly criminal conduct of which he was accused. Id. at 1212. The court also held that it did not view double jeopardy as an issue. Id. The court concluded that "the variance between the specific act of criminal deviate conduct charged, fellatio, and the act upon which the conviction rests, sucking the scrotum, was not material" and that there was sufficient evidence to sustain the defendant's conviction. Id.
Here, Birari was well aware of the alleged criminal conduct of which he was accused. Indeed, Birari states in his reply brief that he "does not complain of a lack of notice, nor does he complain that the allegations mislead him in his defense." Appellant's Reply Brief at 4. With respect
Birari argues that his conduct does not demonstrate any intent to rape A.J. nor were his actions strongly corroborative of criminal culpability. Birari contends that his conduct showed that he liked A.J., hoped to have sex with her, and tried to initiate a consensual encounter.
With respect to Birari's argument that he lacked the intent to commit rape, we observe that "a person's intent may be determined from their conduct and the natural consequences thereof and that the intent may be inferred from circumstantial evidence." Coleman v. State, 546 N.E.2d 827, 831 (Ind.1989), reh'g denied. "It is not required that a defendant make a direct statement of intent to rape nor is it necessary that clothing be removed in order to express such intent." Id. The record reveals that A.J. repeatedly told Birari that she merely wanted to remain friends. While A.J. was asleep in bed with her two-year-old cousin, Birari removed his clothes, removed A.J.'s sweatpants, and placed his erect penis near A.J.'s vagina. After A.J. and her roommate were able to remove Birari from their apartment, Birari yelled, "Please, don't call the police. Just kill me." Transcript at 96. We conclude that the State presented evidence of probative value from which a reasonable jury could have found that Birari acted with the requisite intent.
Birari contends that A.J. awoke and rejected his advances indicating that she was very much aware of the situation. To the extent that Birari argues that the statute governing rape "was not enacted to protect a woman who was both aware of her situation and capable of refusing consent" and attempts to distinguish this case from others where the victims had ingested alcohol or drugs which rendered them unable to consent, we find Birari's argument does not have merit. In Glover v. State, the court adopted the following definition of the term "unaware" in the context of the rape statute:
760 N.E.2d 1120, 1124 (Ind.Ct.App.2002) (quoting Becker v. State, 703 N.E.2d 696, 698 (Ind.Ct.App.1998)), trans. denied. A.J. was asleep during the time that Birari removed his clothes and her sweatpants and only woke up when Birari was on top of her and attempting to insert his erect penis in her vagina. We conclude that the
The next issue is whether the prosecutor committed prosecutorial misconduct that resulted in fundamental error. In reviewing a properly preserved claim of prosecutorial misconduct, we determine: (1) whether the prosecutor engaged in misconduct, and if so, (2) whether the misconduct, under all of the circumstances, placed the defendant in a position of grave peril to which he or she should not have been subjected. Cooper v. State, 854 N.E.2d 831, 835 (Ind.2006). Whether a prosecutor's argument constitutes misconduct is measured by reference to case law and the Rules of Professional Conduct. Id. The gravity of peril is measured by the probable persuasive effect of the misconduct on the jury's decision rather than the degree of impropriety of the conduct. Id.
When an improper argument is alleged to have been made, the correct procedure is to request the trial court to admonish the jury. Id. If the party is not satisfied with the admonishment, then he or she should move for mistrial. Id. Failure to request an admonishment or to move for mistrial results in waiver. Id. Here, Birari did not object to the prosecutor's closing argument and did not request an admonishment or a mistrial. Thus, Birari has waived the issue.
Where, as here, a claim of prosecutorial misconduct has not been properly preserved, our standard for review is different from that of a properly preserved claim. Id. More specifically, the defendant must establish not only the grounds for the misconduct but also the additional grounds for fundamental error. Id. Fundamental error is an extremely narrow exception that allows a defendant to avoid waiver of an issue. Id. It is error that makes "a fair trial impossible or constitute[s] clearly blatant violations of basic and elementary principles of due process... present[ing] an undeniable and substantial potential for harm." Id.
Birari argues that the prosecutor improperly informed the jury that A.J. was telling the truth. Birari cites the following portion of the prosecutor's rebuttal:
Transcript at 172. Birari also points to the following portion of the prosecutor's closing argument:
Id. at 159 (emphasis added). Birari argues that there was no testimony regarding his interactions with the two-year-old and that the prosecutor "improperly intimated [that he] wanted the two year old to watch him having sex." Appellant's Brief at 23.
The State argues that the prosecutor properly argued that the jury could believe A.J. because the evidence indicated that she had no motive to lie and that it was an undisputed fact that a two-year-old child was sleeping in the bed with A.J. and Birari during the attempted rape. The State also argues that even if the prosecutor's arguments were improper, there is no indication that the arguments resulted in fundamental error.
While we believe that the prosecutor's comments were improper, we cannot say that such conduct resulted in fundamental error. In addition to A.J.'s testimony, the State also presented the testimony of her roommate as well as a recording of the 911 call which included A.J. hyperventilating in the background. Also, before the prosecutor made the comments that Birari challenges on appeal, the prosecutor stated:
Transcript at 157. Further, the jury was instructed:
Appellant's Appendix at 58. The jury was also instructed as follows: "You are the exclusive judges of the evidence, which may be either witness testimony or exhibits," "[s]tatements made by the attorneys are not evidence," and "[y]our verdict should be based on the law and the facts as you find them." Id. at 55, 65-66. Under the circumstances, we cannot say that the prosecutor's comments resulted in fundamental error.
For the foregoing reasons, we affirm Birari's conviction for attempted rape as a class B felony.
Affirmed.
BAKER, J., and KIRSCH, J., concur.
685 N.E.2d at 677 n. 8.