Blaine Downum, 31, asked for a new trial claiming that instead of going to trial on charges of child molestation, statutory rape, resisting arrest and being a felon in possession of a firearm, the latter two charges should have been tried separately.
Downum's attorney also said the late introduction of trauma evidence that was offered by his victim during an interview at the Children's Center should not have been allowed and that a group of police officers should not have been allowed to sit in the courtroom because that left the impression that Downum was guilty.
The trial judge, Dean Dankelson, had permitted the officers to attend, noting that they were not in uniform so there was nothing to indicate to the jury they were connected to law enforcement.
Here, the record affirmatively demonstrates that nothing the jury saw would give it any indication that any of the spectators in the gallery were police officers. The trial court is the “intimate observer of events at trial[.]” State v. Hartman, 479 S.W.3d 692, 702 (Mo. App. W.D. 2015). Its recorded observations constitute factual findings that we rightly defer to on appeal. Id. In addition, the State noted for the record (without any contradiction by defense counsel) that there were additional people in the courtroom, including witnesses who had testified, attorneys, and a reporter from a local newspaper, all of whom were dressed similarly to the plainclothes officers described by the trial court.
Downum's attorney also argued the prosecution should not have been allowed to present evidence that Downum molested another underage girl. The appellate panel also rejected that point.
The appeal also contended Dankelson erred when he allowed the prosecution to bring up information in its closing argument that had not been mentioned during the evidentiary portion of the trial.
Downum's attorney had introduced a photo of Downum's penis into evidence to show that he has a tattoo on that part of the body while the victim said during her testimony that he did not have one. During the closing argument, the prosecution argued the hotel room was dim and that a tattoo would not be what the 10-year-old was focused on when she was being raped.
As noted in the January 30, 2019 Turner Report, at the time Downum molested the girl, he was free on bond while awaiting a trial on a felony charge of possession of a controlled substance:
The drug allegation was the seventh felony charge filed against Downum after he received a suspended sentence in Jasper County Circuit Court and was placed on five years supervised probation November 24, 2014, after pleading guilty to felony receiving stolen property. Two months earlier, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor domestic assault charge.
The Pittsburg, Kansas Police Department arrested Downum on six felony charges in connection with a 2015 incident in which Downum "used a handgun to rob someone of methamphetamine," according to a Pittsburg Morning Sun article.
In October 2016, the Crawford County District Attorney's office reached a plea agreement with Downum in which he pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. In exchange for the plea, two felony charges of aggravated assault and single felony charges of aggravated armed robbery, aggravated battery and aggravated endangering a child were dropped.
Downum is serving a life sentence for the statutory rape and a 50-year sentence on child molestation, with the terms running consecutively.
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