State v. Vunda
2014 Ohio 3449
Ohio Ct. App.2014Background
- Paul Vunda, an immigrant from the Democratic Republic of Congo, lived with his sister's family in Butler County, Ohio; his niece A.P. alleged repeated sexual abuse from 2000 (age 6) through 2011 (age 17).
- A.P. testified to routine sexual acts (digital penetration, fellatio, cunnilingus, and vaginal intercourse) occurring over an 11-year period when she was left alone with Vunda; a hidden camera captured a 2011 incident.
- After the video was shown to A.P.’s mother, police interviewed Vunda, who admitted multiple instances of sexual contact and signed a written Miranda waiver; he was indicted on counts spanning rape, unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, and contributing to the delinquency of a child.
- Vunda moved to suppress his statements claiming Miranda warnings were ineffective due to language/cultural barriers; the trial court denied the motion after a suppression hearing and relied on the video and admissions at trial.
- A jury convicted Vunda of six counts of rape, three counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, and two counts of contributing to the unruliness/delinquency of a child; he was sentenced to a minimum 14-year term and life with parole eligibility after ten years on one count due to a jury finding that a victim was under 10 on that count.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (State) | Defendant's Argument (Vunda) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admissibility of confession / Miranda waiver | Warnings were given, waiver was knowing and voluntary; interrogation tape and written waiver support admissibility | Waiver invalid: Miranda not properly given; Vunda is a French-speaking foreigner who did not understand English | Court denied suppression: tape, written card, and interview showed understanding and voluntary waiver |
| Fair-cross-section / jury composition | Jury selection process valid; no record showing systematic exclusion of a cognizable group | Jury venire excluded people of Vunda’s race/nationality; equal protection violation | Claim rejected for lack of record/transcript and no evidence of systematic exclusion; presumption of regularity applies |
| Venue (Butler County) | Venue proven by victim’s testimony and corroboration that abuse occurred at family home in Butler County | Venue not established beyond reasonable doubt | Venue proved by testimony of victim and mother; R.C. 2901.12(A) satisfied |
| Manifest weight / sufficiency of evidence (perjury claim) | Multiple sources corroborate abuse: victim testimony, mother’s testimony, Vunda’s admissions, videotape | Only one incident (2011) occurred; other testimony was perjured or inconsistent | Convictions not against the manifest weight: jury credited victim and confession, convicted on multiple yearly-count framework |
| Ineffective assistance of counsel | (State) Counsel performed adequately: investigated, called witnesses, cross-examined, obtained one acquittal | (Vunda) Counsel inexperienced, failed to investigate, didn’t question witnesses, didn’t raise corpus delicti | Strickland standard not met: record shows defense investigation, witnesses called, vigorous cross-examination; failed claims were meritless or waived |
| Prosecutorial misconduct / burden of proof comments | Closing was proper summary and permissible inferences; court cured any ambiguous remark about presumption with a cautionary instruction | Prosecutor vouched for victim and improperly suggested presumption of innocence was gone | No prejudicial misconduct: remarks were within permissible argument and trial court’s instruction cured any potential error |
Key Cases Cited
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (ineffective assistance requires deficient performance and prejudice)
- State v. Brown, 12 Ohio St.3d 147 (verdict inconsistency principles)
- State v. Sellards, 17 Ohio St.3d 169 (time/date precision not essential in child sexual abuse indictments)
- State v. Maranda, 94 Ohio St. 364 (corpus delicti rule requires some evidence independent of confession)