TOPEKA – The Kansas Court of Appeals Friday upheld the conviction for a Barton County man convicted of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated indecent liberties with a child and criminal threat.
Kenneth Crawford claims in his appeal that his statutory right to a speedy trial was violated, the prosecutor in the case committed multiple acts of prosecutorial misconduct, the district court committed judicial misconduct, that he was denied a fair trial based on cumulative error, that the district court improperly aggregated three misdemeanors into one prior person felony when calculating his criminal history score; and that the district court violated his constitutional rights when it relied on his prior convictions to increase his sentence.
But, the appeals court affirmed the district court’s judgment in the case.
They say in their opinion, that under the circumstances presented in the case, consideration of the defendant’s speedy trial claim for the first time on appeal is not necessary to serve the ends of justice or to prevent a denial of fundamental rights.
They say their review of possible prosecutorial misconduct involving improper comments showed the prosecutor’s analogy to a jigsaw puzzle to explain reasonable doubt minimized the State’s burden of proof and constituted misconduct. Although the misconduct did not deny the defendant a fair trial in this particular case, such a practice by prosecutors is highly discouraged. They say Crawford has the burden to establish that misconduct occurred and that the misconduct prejudiced the party’s substantial rights. If a proper and reasonable construction will render the judge’s remark unobjectionable, the remark is not prejudicial.
The case starts on August 2, 2005, at approximately 8:45 p-m, when Crawford came by the victims house looking for her mother. When the 12-year-old explained that her mother was not home, Crawford persuaded her to take a ride in his truck. Crawford drove for an undetermined amount of time and stopped in a rural area near a shack. Crawford offered the victim a beer to drink, but she refused. Crawford then asked her to show him personal parts of her body and she saying that was disgusting, and Crawford replied, “What do you think we came down here for?”
The victim then tried to open the door to run away, but Crawford grabbed her legs and pulled her out of the truck and onto the ground, where he then made sexual advances. The victim struggled with Crawford who ended up with a bloody lip, and Crawford told her to shut up or he would kill her.
During the struggle, he scratched the left side of his face and pinched him under his arm. After approximately 5-minutes, Crawford allowed her to get up off the ground. She then ran into some nearby trees and eventually made it to the roadway where she encountered Nina Dozier and her husband, who were driving to their home. The Doziers drove the 12-year-old to the local country club where her mother worked, and she then called 911.
On August 8, 2005, the state charged Crawford with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated indecent liberties with a child, criminal threat, and battery. Prior to trial, the State dismissed the battery charge.
The jury trial commenced on November 16, 2009 and they found Crawford guilty as charged.
On January 4, 2010, Crawford was sentenced to 337-months in prison.