Michael Johnson v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.), 49A02-1612-CR-2821

On July 18, 2015, CNA Tonya Anderson visited client David Britton at his home; neighbor Michael Johnson, intoxicated, approached the porch despite being unwelcome.
Johnson threatened to burn the house down and to kill Anderson and Britton if she called the police; officers escorted him home but he returned shortly after.
When Anderson again told him to leave, Johnson pushed her against a wall, put a hand around her neck, and put his other hand under her dress, touching her vagina while saying sexually suggestive remarks.
Anderson pushed him away, police returned, and Johnson was arrested and charged with intimidation (Level 6 felony), sexual battery (Level 6 felony), battery, public intoxication, and disorderly conduct.
A jury convicted Johnson on all counts; he appealed, challenging sufficiency of the evidence for sexual battery and intimidation.
The Court of Appeals affirmed, concluding the evidence supported both convictions and rejecting Johnson’s arguments about conditional threats and consent opportunity.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence for sexual battery (force element)	State: Johnson used force/imminent threat (pushing, neck hold) that compelled submission, satisfying statute.	Johnson: He “just did it”; victim had no chance to grant/deny consent, so force/imminent threat not proven.	Affirmed — pushing against wall and hand around neck provided sufficient force to compel submission.
Sufficiency of evidence for intimidation (threat related to prior lawful act)	State: Johnson’s threats were made after Anderson lawfully asked him to leave and called police, so threats targeted prior lawful acts and intended to place her in fear.	Johnson: Threats were conditional and therefore insufficient (relies on Causey).	Affirmed — conditional language does not negate intimidation where threat targets a prior lawful act; Roar and related authority support conviction.

Willis v. State, 27 N.E.3d 1065 (Ind. 2015) (standard of review for sufficiency of evidence)
Scott-Gordon v. State, 579 N.E.2d 602 (Ind. 1991) (force for sexual battery may be implied from circumstances)
Tobias v. State, 666 N.E.2d 68 (Ind. 1996) (force assessed from victim's subjective perception)
Roar v. State, 52 N.E.3d 940 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016) (conditional language does not defeat intimidation where threat targets a prior lawful act)
Roar v. State, 54 N.E.3d 1001 (Ind. 2016) (supreme court adopted the Ct. App. Roar analysis)
Causey v. State, 45 N.E.3d 1239 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015) (held conditional threat insufficient in that factual context; later questioned by Roar)