State Of Washington, V. Garrett Occiano
54143-2
Wash. Ct. App.Sep 21, 2021Background
- Defendant Garrett Occiano pleaded guilty to second-degree rape of a child and second-degree child molestation; the victim was his daughter and the alleged offenses occurred in the family home.
- His plea and the PSI provided minimal factual detail; the PSI did not mention whether he used sexually explicit material or called 900 numbers.
- At sentencing the court imposed a variety of community custody conditions, including prohibitions on possessing/owning/perusing sexually explicit materials, a curfew as directed by his community corrections officer (CCO), a ban on calling 900 numbers, and a requirement to pay DOC-determined supervision fees.
- Occiano appealed, arguing the three challenged conditions (sexually explicit materials, curfew, 900 numbers) were not crime-related and that supervision fees should be waived due to indigency.
- The Court of Appeals held the curfew condition was not crime-related and remanded to strike it; it upheld the sexually explicit materials and 900-numbers conditions as crime-related; it also upheld supervision fees because they are imposed under RCW 9.94A.703 and are not the kind of ‘‘costs’’ automatically waived for indigent defendants.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prohibition on possessing/owning/perusing sexually explicit materials | Not crime-related because record has no evidence materials were involved | Crime-related because banning sexually explicit materials is reasonably related to sex-offense convictions | Upheld — reasonable relationship under State v. Nguyen; not required that materials were used in the offense |
| Curfew set by CCO | Not crime-related; record contains no link between curfew and the home-based offenses | Helpful to DOC supervision; part of comprehensive conditions for life community custody | Reversed — curfew not crime-related and superior court abused its discretion; remanded to strike condition |
| Ban on calling 900 numbers | Not crime-related | Crime-related because 900 numbers can provide sexually explicit conversation/material similar to pornographic materials | Upheld — falls within the same reasoning as sexually explicit materials prohibition |
| DOC supervision fees | Must be waived due to indigency under statutes limiting costs for indigent defendants | Fees authorized by RCW 9.94A.703 and are not ‘‘costs’’ that require waiver under RCW 10.01.160(3) | Upheld — supervision fees may be imposed; they are waivable but not automatically waived for indigency; court may nonetheless strike them on remand |
Key Cases Cited
- State v. Hai Minh Nguyen, 191 Wn.2d 671 (Wash. 2018) (upholding prohibition on access to sexually explicit materials as reasonably crime-related for sex offenders)
- State v. Irwin, 191 Wn. App. 644 (Wash. Ct. App. 2015) (reasonable-relationship standard for crime-related conditions)
- State v. Starr, 16 Wn. App. 2d 106 (Wash. Ct. App. 2021) (supervision fees are not the ‘‘costs’’ requiring waiver under RCW 10.01.160)
- State v. Clark, 191 Wn. App. 369 (Wash. Ct. App. 2015) (policy concerns about legal financial obligations and offender reintegration)