Heard
in the Court of Appeals 17 January 2019.
Appeal
by defendant from judgments entered 24 March 2017 by Judge
Reuben F. Young in Wake County, Nos. 14 CRS 225411, 225413,
15 CRS 39, 1602, 204121, 204124-25 Superior Court.
Attorney General Joshua H. Stein, by Assistant Attorney
General Sherri Horner Lawrence, for the State.
Appellate Defender Glenn Gerding, by Assistant Appellate
Defender Wyatt Orsbon, for defendant-appellant.
TYSON,
JUDGE.
Michael
Anthony Sheridan ("Defendant") appeals from
judgments entered upon a jury's verdicts and convictions
of four counts of first-degree sexual exploitation of a
minor, two counts of statutory rape, and one count of sexual
offense in a parental role. We find no error in part and
remand for appropriate findings on Defendant's pro
se speedy trial motion and the trial court's
satellite-based monitoring ("SBM") determination.
I.
Background
T.S.
("Tonya") met Defendant in March 2013, in the
Raleigh neighborhood where they both lived. Tonya was
fourteen years old and Defendant was forty-four. Defendant
told Tonya about and introduced her to his daughter, who was
around the same age. Tonya began "hanging out" with
Defendant's daughter, and Defendant was
"always" around.
On 14
March 2013, Defendant asked Tonya if she wanted to "hang
out" at his house the next day, while she waited for his
daughter to get home. The next day, Defendant told Tonya his
daughter was home, and she should come over.
Once
she entered his house, Defendant told Tonya they were alone.
Defendant took Tonya into his bedroom, began kissing her,
removed their clothes, and engaged in her first vaginal
intercourse. Defendant and Tonya engaged in vaginal
intercourse and fellatio "every day" thereafter,
and within a week or two Tonya came to believe she was
"in love" with Defendant.
Tonya
moved with her family to Hertford County in November 2013.
Defendant continued engaging in sexual relations with Tonya
after the move, when she returned to Raleigh with her mother
to visit in the area. In June 2014, Tonya moved back to
Raleigh and lived with Defendant. Defendant had told Tonya
she could choose where she wanted to live after she turned
sixteen years old. Tonya told her mother Defendant had
offered her a job in Raleigh, and she was going to live with
and work for him.
Defendant
and Tonya shared a bed when she moved in with him and
immediately resumed their sexual relationship. Their near
daily sexual activity occurred before and after Tonya's
sixteenth birthday. Between 2013 and 2014, Tonya used
Defendant's phone at his request to take four or five
nude photographs of herself. Defendant purchased food and
clothing for Tonya and gave her a bank card to use for
expenses.
On 27
October 2014, Defendant and Tonya argued. At Tonya's
request, her grandmother dropped her off at her mother's
boyfriend's house in Harnett County. Tonya's
mother's boyfriend refused to allow Tonya to stay, and
she returned to Defendant's house in a taxicab late that
night.
When
she arrived, Tonya found Defendant naked in bed with another
woman. Tonya requested Defendant to pay for her cab fare, but
he refused. An argument ensued and the police were called.
The cab driver retained all of Tonya's luggage and
belongings for the unpaid fare. Tonya was arrested and taken
to jail for failing to pay the cab fare.
Tonya
was released from jail at approximately 3:00 a.m. on 28
October 2014 and walked back to Defendant's home from the
jail. The other woman was still at the house. Defendant and
Tonya argued, and the other woman was driven home by
Defendant's housemate. Tonya and Defendant slept in the
same bedroom, but upon waking continued to argue, mainly
about access to a phone. Defendant had provided Tonya with a
phone when she had moved in, but he had taken it away from
her.
Tonya
attempted to retrieve the phone while Defendant was in the
shower, but Defendant allegedly began to physically assault
her. Tonya grabbed a beer bottle and struck him on the head.
Defendant escalated the assault, and when Tonya fell to the
floor, she saw a knife and grabbed it. Defendant and Tonya
grappled with the knife, but she regained control of it and
stabbed Defendant. The assaults continued, and
Defendant's mother called 911.
Officers
arrived and Tonya was transported to the hospital and
underwent a sexual assault examination. Tonya told police
officers that Defendant had raped her that day and had been
sexually active with her prior to that occurrence. Tonya was
placed into foster care. Soon after, Tonya learned she was
pregnant again and gave birth to a son. She had previously
aborted an earlier pregnancy. Subsequent DNA testing
confirmed to a confidence interval of 99% that Defendant was
the father of the child.
Defendant
was indicted for four counts of first-degree sexual
exploitation of a minor, two counts of statutory rape, one
count of sexual offense in a parental role, one count of
indecent liberties with a minor, and of attaining habitual
felon status. Defendant had retained counsel, but filed a
pro se motion for a speedy trial on 14 April 2015,
while being incarcerated in the Wake County Jail for
approximately six months. Even though Defendant was
represented by counsel, the trial court heard and denied the
pro se motion.
Defendant's
case was called for trial on 20 March 2017. The jury's
verdict found Defendant guilty of the four counts of sexual
exploitation, two counts of statutory rape, and one count of
sexual offense in a parental role. The State dismissed the
charges of indecent liberties and Defendant having attained
habitual felon status. Defendant was sentenced to two
consecutive sentences of 317-441 months, one consecutive
sentence of 33-100 months, and four consecutive sentences of
96-176 months. He was also ordered to register as a sex
offender and enroll in SBM for the remainder of his natural
life.
Defendant
gave oral notice of appeal in open court, but did not enter
written notice of appeal of the civil SBM order. Defendant
has subsequently filed a petition for writ of certiorari to
seek review of the civil SBM.
II.
Jurisdiction
An
appeal of right of Defendant's criminal convictions lies
with this Court pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. §§
7A-27(b) and 15A-1444 (2017).
III.
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