Sandra Bass appeals the motion court’s denial of her Rule 24.035 motion for post-conviction relief after an evidentiary hearing. Ms. Bass claims that the plea court did not have jurisdiction to convict her of rape because, as a female, she was incapable of committing that crime. We disagree. As have other jurisdictions addressing this issue, we hold that a female may be held guilty of rape where, as here, she has aided another to commit the rape.
Ms. Bass also argues that conviction of both rape and child abuse subjected her to double jeopardy in violation of Section 556.041(3), RSMo 1986. She claims that rape differs from abuse of a child only in that rape is simply a specific instance of child abuse. We disagree, for we find that the legislature intended to authorize cumulative punishment for both rape and abuse of a child, even if based on the same act and that the offense of rape of a child is not simply a specific instance of the general offense of abuse of a child but rather constitutes a separate offense.
Finally, we reject Ms. Bass’ claims that her plea counsel was ineffective in failing to request a second medical examination after an initial exam showed that she was competent. In the absence of evidence that the first exam had serious shortcomings and in the absence of evidence which would cause reasonable counsel to believe that Ms. Bass was not competent to plead guilty or be held responsible for the crimes charged, counsel was not required to seek a second mental examination. Accordingly, denial of the post-conviction motion is affirmed.
I. STATEMENT OF FACTS
Sandra K. Bass and her eleven year old daughter, Brenda, lived with Ms. Bass’s boyfriend, Bobby Clark. In April or May of 1993, Ms. Bass woke her daughter and made her go into the back bedroom, where Mr. Clark was waiting in his underwear. Ms. Bass told her daughter to change into her nightshirt and physically forced her to have sexual intercourse with Mr. Clark.
Ms. Bass was subsequently charged by separate informations with the Class B felony of abuse of a child, in violation of Section 568.060, RSMo Cum.Supp.1992, and the felony of rape in violation of Section 566.030, RSMo Cum.Supp.1992. On April 6, 1995, Ms. Bass entered pleas of guilty to both charges, and on June 21, 1995, the court sentenced Ms. Bass to concurrent terms of twenty years for rape and fifteen years for abuse of a child.
Ms. Bass timely filed a Rule 24.035 motion for post-conviction relief alleging that the trial court did not have jurisdiction over the rape charge because the information was defective in that Ms. Bass, as a female, could not commit the crime of rape. The motion also alleged that Ms. Bass’ trial counsel was ineffective in failing to request a second medical examination after an earlier examination
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
Appellate review of denial of a Rule 24.035 motion for post-conviction relief is limited to a determination of whether the motion court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law were clearly erroneous. Rule 24.035(k);
Leisure v. State,
III. FEMALE GUILTY AS PRINCIPAL FOR AIDING IN COMMISSION OF RAPE
As Ms. Bass’ first point on appeal, she claims that the motion court erred in denying her post-conviction motion because the information was defective and the plea court did not have jurisdiction to convict her of rape in that, because she is a female, she could not commit the crime of rape.
Ms. Bass was charged with rape in violation of Section 566.030.3. That Section defines rápe as having sexual intercourse with another person less than fourteen years old to whom the defendant is not married. § 566.030.3, RSMo Cum.Supp.1992. Sexual intercourse is defined as “any penetration, however slight, of the female sex organ by the male sex organ.” § 566.010(3), RSMo Cum.Supp.1992. Although Ms. Bass correctly asserts that, because of the statutory definition of sexual intercourse, she could not alone rape another female, the State’s theory was that Ms. Bass could be convicted for aiding Mr. Clark in the commission of the rape.
In Missouri, a person is criminally responsible for another’s conduct if she aids or attempts to aid that other person in committing the offense. § 562.041.1(2), RSMo 1986. Missouri has eliminated the distinction between principals and accessories, and now all persons who act in concert are equally guilty.
State v. Isa,
Subsection (2) is designed to cover the situation where the individual could not be guilty of the crime on the basis solely of his own conduct but can be an accessory. For example, a husband cannot by his own conduct be guilty of raping his wife. However, if he assists another in doing the act he can be guilty as an accessory.
Comment to 1973 Proposed Code § 562.046. As authority, the Comment cites
State v. Drope,
Drope
first noted that prior Missouri cases had recognized that “[o]ne not the husband of the victim can be found guilty of rape on the basis of aiding and abetting even though he does not engage in the act of sexual intercourse.”
Id.
at 679.
Drope
cited, by way
of
example,
State v. Sheard,
Drope
noted that other jurisdictions had held that this same principle permitted holding a husband hable for rape of his wife where, as here, it was the husband who assisted others in committing the rape, holding that the fact the husband could not himself commit the rape individually was essentially irrelevant.
Drope,
The State argues that the same rationale applies here, and that we should hold that a female can be held guilty of rape where she aids a male in committing the rape, even though she cannot commit a rape individually. Our review of the cases cited by the parties and our own independent research reveals that those jurisdictions to address the issue have applied the rationale used in Drope and held that a female who aids another in committing a rape can herself be convicted of rape.
For example, in
State v. Carter,
Similarly, in
People v. Smith,
In
Commonwealth v. Whitehead,
In
People v. Merfert,
We agree with the above cases that a female may be found guilty of rape where, as here, she has aided a male to commit the crime. Here, Ms. Bass told her eleven-year-old daughter to come into the bedroom and put on her nightshirt. She then forced her daughter to engage in sexual intercourse
Ms. Bass also claims that the above cases do not apply because of Missouri’s exception to accessory liability for conduct which is “necessarily incident” to the main offense. As she notes, Section 562.041.2 states that a person is not criminally responsible for . the conduct of another even though he aids the other in committing the offense if:
(1) He is the victim of the offense committed or attempted;
(2) The offense is so defined that his conduct was necessarily incident to the commission or attempt to commit the offense. If his conduct constitutes a related but separate offense, he is criminally responsible for that offense but not for the conduct or offense committed or attempted by the other person.
§ 562.041.2(2), RSMo 1986 (emphasis'added).
Ms. Bass argues that this exception applies here because her involvement in the crime must be considered as only incident to — that is, collateral to — the crime, because it was not an essential part of the crime. Ms. Bass’ argument turns the meaning of “necessarily incident” on its head. She argues, in essence, that because her participation was not necessary to crime, the exception applies to her. What the section says, however, is just the opposite — it applies only to conduct which, is necessarily incident to the crime. Thus, if the conduct is not a necessary part of the crime, as plaintiff claims her conduct was not here, the exception does not apply.
This meaning of the statute is made clear by the Comment to the 1973 Proposed Code, which gives examples of how to apply the “necessarily incident” exception. The Comment first notes that Section 562.041.2(1) protects the victim of a crime from being found guilty as an accessory, as in the case of an underage girl who consents to sex with a man later convicted of statutory rape. The Comment then explains the exception for “necessarily incident” conduct, stating:
Subsection 2(2) extends the same protection to persons who do not fall neatly into the category of victims. For example, if a statute simply makes the giving of a bribe a crime should the recipient be guilty of a violation of that statute on the basis of aiding- and abetting. If he should be, this should be covered in the statute on bribery. This subsection does not prevent his being criminally liable, it merely requires the statue defining the offense to so specify. The subsection does make it clear that it does not bar conviction for a related offense based on his own conduct, as, for example, if there were another statute making it a crime to receive a bribe.
Comment to 1973 Proposed Code § 562.041.
As one commentator has noted, using the same rationale, if a statute makes prostitution a criminal offense, a person soliciting that prostitute could not be found guilty under Section 562.041.2(2) based on aiding the prostitute because his conduct is “necessarily incident” to the crime of prostitution. The patron could, however, be found guilty under a separate statute which makes soliciting a prostitute a crime. See Carol A. Schwab, Comment, Accomplice Liability Under the 1979 Missouri Criminal Code, 44 Mo. Law Rev. 233 (1979).
These examples make clear that the “necessarily incident” exception refers to situations where the crime could not have been committed without the other person’s participation. Here, Mr. Clark could have committed the rape without Ms. Bass’ participation. Therefore, her conduct was not “necessarily incident” to the crime, and she does not fall within the exception to accessory liability.
IV. DOUBLE JEOPARDY
Next, Ms. Bass claims- that the motion court erred in denying her motion for post-conviction relief on the ground that she was subjected to double jeopardy by being convicted of both child abuse and rape. She admits that Section 556.041 states, “When the same conduct of a person may establish the commission of more than one offense he may be prosecuted for each such offense.”
We disagree for multiple reasons. First, as the State notes, Ms. Bass failed to raise her double jeopardy argument in her
;pro se
or amended motions for post-conviction relief in the trial court; she raises it for the first time on appeal. We have recognized on numerous occasions that failure to timely raise a claim in the motion court constitutes a waiver of that claim. The Southern District of this Court recently applied this rule to hold that, even assuming a double jeopardy claim was otherwise valid, it was waived where the movant had failed to timely raise it in his post-conviction motion.
Rost v. State,
Ms. Bass argues that this Court nonetheless must meet the merits of her double jeopardy claim because, as we noted in Reed v. State, 778 S.W.2d 313, 318-19 (Mo.App. W.D.1989), double jeopardy goes to the court’s jurisdiction and thus cannot be waived.
The State counters that, even if Ms. Bass did not waive her double jeopardy claim by failing to timely raise it below, numerous cases have held that the right to be free from double jeopardy is a personal right which can be waived by pleading guilty where, as here, the defendant recognizes that the State had the right to bring a charge under either statute, and it is simply the double-conviction to which the defendant objects.
See, e.g., State v. Gaver,
While we agree with the principles set out in the cases cited by the State, we also note that it is settled that, even where a plea of guilty has been entered, a claim of double jeopardy is not waived if, on the face of the record, “the charge is one which the State may not constitutionally prosecute.”
Pratt,
The right to be free from double jeopardy, however, is a constitutional right that goes “to the very power of the State to bring the defendant in the court to answer the charge brought against him.”
Id.
at 461 (quoting
State v. Cody, 525
S.W.2d 333, 335 (Mo. banc 1975),
overruled on other grounds, State v. Heslop,
In accordance with
Hagan,
we thus review the informations and the guilty plea transcript below to determine whether they reveal that the sentencing court had no power to enter the conviction or impose the sentence. We find no indication of a lack of such power, for we find that on the face of the record the charge of rape against Ms. Bass does not appear to be simply a specific instance of the charge of abuse of a child. Indeed, an argument nearly identical to that offered by Ms. Bass was raised and rejected in
State v. Gordon,
The subsection (3) distinction between general conduct and specific instance of such conduct is not applicable here. The sodomy statute is directed to deviate sexual intercourse performed without the consent of the victim. The under fourteen aspect of the statute is a recognition that children under that age are not legally capable of giving consent to such sexual activities. Incest is directed at the interference with the family relationship arising from sexual activities by members of the family.... The crime of sodomy is delineated in Chapter 566 RSMo which deals with sexual offenses; the crime of incest is delineated in Chapter 568 which deals with offenses against the family. The offenses are not the same for double jeopardy purposes and multiple convictions and sentences are not prohibited by the statute..
Gordon,
Similarly, here, the offenses of which Ms. Bass was convicted are not the same for double jeopardy purposes. In deciding whether double jeopardy is implicated, we look to the statutory elements of the offense, not the evidence at trial.
State v. Lane,
By contrast, Section 566.030.3 defines rape as having sexual intercourse with a person under fourteen to whom the defendant is not married. It is included in the chapter governing sexual offenses. Although in this instance the rape occurred unwillingly and in an abusive manner, it is a crime even if it occurs with the child’s consent. It is not just a specific instance of abuse of a child; it is a long-recognized independent criminal offense. The crime occurs even when the relationship is consensual and does not cause serious emotional injury or does not constitute cruel or inhuman punishment. Accordingly, we do not find that rape is simply a specific instance of abuse of a child, and accordingly we do not find that Ms. Bass’ conviction of both crimes violated Section 556.041(3).
Ms. Bass’ final claim is that her trial counsel was ineffective by failing to request a second medical examination after an initial exam showed that she was competent to proceed with her guilty plea. Ms. Bass alleges that she was prejudiced by this failure because a second examination would have shown either that she was not competent to plead guilty or that she could not be held criminally responsible for her conduct.
In order to prove a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, Ms. Bass must show by a preponderance of the evidence that her attorney failed to exercise the customary skill and diligence that a reasonably competent attorney would have exhibited under similar circumstances and that she was thereby prejudiced.
Strickland v. Washington,
Numerous cases have held that counsel is not ineffective for failing to request a second mental examination just because the first examination found the defendant competent.
See State v. Milan,
The rationale of these cases applies here. At the time of entering the guilty plea, Mr. Lowe had a copy of a mental health evaluation submitted by the Missouri Department of Mental Health. In this report, Dr. Michael Stacy stated that Ms. Bass suffered from mild mental retardation, but that she appeared “to possess an adequate understanding of the charges and proceedings against her and appears capable of assisting in [sic] her attorney in her own defense.” Dr. Stacy then concluded that:
there is no evidence that, because of mental disease or defect, the defendant would experience significant difficulty in understanding the charges and proceedings against her, in testifying in her own behalf, in attending to and confronting witness testimony, in understanding and exercising basic decisions and options, in communicating with counsel or otherwise meaningfully participating in criminal court proceedings.
Mr. Lowe was also aware that Ms. Bass was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, amphetamine dependent disorder, alcohol dependence disorder, major depressant recurring, mild retardation, and dependent personality disorder. He informed the judge of these facts at the guilty plea hearing, but stated at that time that he did not believe any of these things affected her ability to enter a plea. Mr. Lowe also testified at the post-conviction hearing that Ms. Bass appeared to be mentally limited, but that he did not believe she was incompetent to enter a plea.
At the post-conviction hearing, Dr. Elizabeth Kramer, a clinical psychologist, testified that she had performed a psychological evaluation of Ms. Bass in January of 1995. Dr. Kramer stated that Ms. Bass did not understand legal terminology very well, and that she had informed John Lowe, Ms. Bass’s attorney, that Ms. Bass “was unable to understand legal terms, the ramification of legal terms, that she thinks in a very concrete and very literal fashion, and that she cannot understand high — even moderate levels of abstraction.” Dr. Kramer never told Mr. Lowe, however, that Ms. Bass was not competent to enter a plea or that she was incompetent to understand the proceedings, although she had told him that Ms. Bass did not understand particular aspects of the case. Moreover, Dr. Kramer testified that she believed the initial medical examination was very thorough.
For all the foregoing reasons, the denial of Ms. Bass’ Rule 24.035 motion for post-conviction relief is affirmed.
All concur.
Notes
. In 1990, the legislature passed Section 566.085, which abrogated the common law defense of marriage to the crime of forcible rape. § 566.085, RSMo Cum.Supp.1992. That Section was repealed effective January 1, 1995. In the same Session, the legislature enacted Section 566.023, which lists certain sexual offenses to which marriage is an affirmative defense. Forcible rape, as defined in Section 566.030, is not among the offenses listed. § 566.023, RSMo 1994.
. The Arizona statute stated, "All persons concerned in the commission of a crime, whether they directly commit the act constituting the offense, or aid and abet in its commission, though not present, shall be prosecuted, tried and punished as principals-” Section 44-1107, A.C.A.1939.
. Ms. Bass admits that her prosecution for both rape and abuse of a child does not violate the "same element” test set out in
Blockburger v. United States,
