Mondy v. State

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          APPEAL FROM THE JOHNSON COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NO. 36CR-17-112], HONORABLE BILL PEARSON, JUDGE

         Brett D. Watson, Attorney at Law, PLLC, by: Brett D. Watson, for appellant.

         Leslie Rutledge, Att’y Gen., by: Adam Jackson, Ass’t Att’y Gen., for appellee.

         OPINION

         LARRY D. VAUGHT, Judge

          David Mondy appeals his conviction by a Johnson County Circuit Court of two counts of second-degree sexual assault. We affirm.

          On April 19, 2017, a Clarksville kindergarten class was learning about "good touches and bad touches" when six-year-old Z.P. yelled out "my daddy tickles my private parts." Counselor Laura Hyden testified at Mondy’s trial that she then spoke to Z.P. outside of class and, as a result of that conversation, called the child-abuse hotline to report possible abuse.

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          Z.P. testified that Mondy is her mother’s boyfriend and that although he is not her biological father, she calls him "daddy." She testified that Mondy touched her "private parts" with his hand and his mouth. She demonstrated what she meant by "private parts" and explained that the touching occurred at her house and at an apartment where they had previously lived. Z.P. also testified that she had seen Mondy’s private parts, had seen him touch his penis (she demonstrated this gesture by moving her hand up and down with a closed fist), and had seen "water" or "soap" come out of his penis.

          Prior to trial, the State requested and was granted permission to introduce evidence that Mondy is a registered sex offender as a result of a conviction that occurred seventeen years before trial. However, on the day of Mondy’s trial, his half-sister M.B., who had been the minor victim in the previous case, told the prosecutor that she did not remember the events that led to Mondy’s conviction. She also stated that she and Mondy had reconciled and that she did not want to testify against him. The State nevertheless called her as a witness, and the court overruled Mondy’s objection that it was improper for the State to call her knowing that she would deny knowledge of the previous incident. M.B. testified that she was not allowed to have any contact with Mondy for several years but stated that she did not remember making allegations that Mondy had engaged in sexual contact with her as a child.

          Mondy testified that he had not engaged in any sexual acts with Z.P. but worried that she had inadvertently seen explicit photos that Mondy and Z.P.’s mother exchanged on their phones. He admitted that he is a registered sex offender as a result of allegations of sexual impropriety that M.B. made against him seventeen years ago. He described the nature of those allegations and denied that they were true. He claimed that his 2001 conviction for a sex offense against M.B. was the result of "a bad custody battle" with M.B.’s mother. He also claimed that Z.P.’s mother had coached her to make false allegations against him after he had ended their relationship.

          Mondy also presented the testimony of his ex-wife, Martha Mondy, who stated that she did not have concerns about him being around their eleven-year-old daughter. He also called several other witnesses who testified that they know ...