RALPH R. ROBERTS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Roberts was convicted of both sexual battery under section 794.011(8)(b) and lewd, lascivious conduct under section 800.04(3) for the same sexual acts against a minor. The court held these offenses are mutually exclusive and reversed the lewd conduct conviction, allowing only one conviction to stand for the same conduct.
Sexual battery and lewd, lascivious conduct are mutually exclusive offenses. One cannot be convicted of both crimes for the same conduct. If the conduct constitutes sexual battery, only that conviction may stand; if it does not constitute sexual battery, then lewd conduct may be charged.
[1] Convictions for sexual battery and lewd, lascivious, or indecent assault are mutually exclusive offenses when based on the same conduct.
[2] A person cannot be convicted of both sexual battery under section 794.011(8)(b) and lewd, lascivious, or indecent assault under section 800.04(3) for the same act.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“These offenses are mutually exclusive. One simply cannot commit both. If one commits the acts defined as sexual battery under section 794.011(l)(h), then he may be convicted of the offense of sexual battery; if he commits the same acts but for some reason is not convicted of sexual battery, he may be convicted of the offense of lewd conduct.”
Establishes the core holding that sexual battery and lewd conduct cannot both be charged or convicted for identical conduct.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRalph R. Roberts was charged in separate counts with sexual battery and lewd, lascivious, or indecent assault for causing his penis to penetrate the v…
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PER CURIAM.
The issue in this case is whether one who is convicted of sexual battery under section 794.011(8)(b), Florida Statutes (1995):
794.011 Sexual battery.—
* * *
(8) Without regard to the willingness or consent of the victim, which is not a defense to prosecution under this subsection, a person who is in a position of familial or custodial authority to a person less than 18 years of age and who:
(b) Engages in any act with that person while the person is 12 years of age or older but less than 18 years of age which constitutes sexual battery under paragraph (1)00 • • •
can also be convicted under section 800.04(3), Florida Statutes (1995):
800.04 Lewd, lascivious, or indecent assault or act upon or in presence of child.— A person who:
(3) Commits an act defined as sexual battery under s. 794.011(l)(h) upon any child under the age of 16 years; ...
* * *
without committing the crime of sexual battery, ...
for the same act.
The information charges in separate counts that Ralph R. Roberts, by “causing ' his penis to have union with or penetrate ... [the victim’s] vagina,” committed both a sexual battery and a lewd, lascivious or indecent assault upon the victim.1 The jury convicted appellant of both charges and Roberts appeals. To justify both convictions, appellee urges a Blockburger
analysis to determine if one charge is a lesser included offense of the other. To the contrary, these offenses are mutually exclusive. One simply cannot commit both. If one commits the acts defined as sexual battery under section 794.011(l)(h), then he may be convicted of the offense of sexual battery; if he commits the same acts but for some reason is not convicted of sexual battery, he may be convicted of the offense of lewd conduct. In State v. Hightower, 509 So. 2d 1078, 1079 (Fla.1987), our supreme court explained it as follows:
The 1984 amendment to section 800.04 was passed to eliminate the anomalous interpretation that one could commit the conduct defined as sexual battery upon a person between the ages of twelve and sixteen and yet remain unpunished because of circumstances which would prevent conviction and the crime of sexual battery. Subsection (2) of section 800.04 as amended in 1984 utilized the sexual battery definition contained in section 794.011(l)(h). Therefore, it is evident that the phrase “without committing the crime of sexual battery” was included to differentiate between crimes of sexual battery and lewd and lascivious conduct. Had the phrase been excluded, a person having forcible sexual intercourse with a child under sixteen would be guilty of both crimes, As now worded, section 800.04 contemplates that if sexual activity takes place with a person under sixteen years of age which does not constitute the crime of sexual battery, the conduct is deemed to be lewd and lascivious. Thus, the unique language contained in the amendment to section 800.04 makes it clear that these particular crimes are mutually exclusive.
More to the point, perhaps, is footnote 4 to the Hightower opinion which reads:
If uncertain of the proof, the cautious prosecutor will probably charge sexual battery and lewd and lascivious conduct in separate counts, recognizing, however, that only one conviction can be obtained for the same conduct.
Id. at 1079.
Accordingly, appellant’s convictions for lewd and lascivious conduct are reversed.
REVERSED.
DAUKSCH, HARRIS and THOMPSON, JJ., concur. . Similarly, the information charged and the jury determined that Roberts’ assault on the victim with his "mouth or tongue” also constituted both sexual battery and lewd and lascivious conduct. The analysis is the same.
. Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299, 52 S.Ct. 180, 76 L.Ed. 306 (1932).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Roberts v. State, 715 So. 2d 302 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998)…d on count IV, committing a lewd or lascivious act in the presence of -a child6. Defendant directly appealed his judgments and sentences in case no. 95-800. Upon review, this court reversed the convictions on counts II and IV. See Roberts v. State, 687 So. 2d 959 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997). Defendant did not directly appeal case no. 95-799. Thereafter, defendant filed a rule 3.800 motion to modify or mitigate his sentences in case no. 95-800, requesting the trial court to “exercise its discretion ... and mitigate…
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Hausen v. State, 730 So. 2d 327 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999)…he proof, the cautious prosecutor will probably charge sexual battery and lewd and lascivious conduct in separate counts, recognizing that only one conviction can be obtained for the same conduct. 509 So. 2d at 1079, n. 4. See also Roberts v. State, 687 So. 2d 959 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997) (a defendant cannot be convicted of both sexual battery and lewd and lascivious conduct: “If one commits the act defined as sexual battery under section 794.011(l)(h), then he may be convicted of [*329] the offense of sexual batt…
Authorities Cited
- Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299 (U.S. 1932)
- State v. Hightower, 509 So. 2d 1078 (Fla. 1987)