e-Journal Summary

e-Journal Number : 69903
Opinion Date : 02/26/2019
e-Journal Date : 03/13/2019
Court : Michigan Court of Appeals
Case Name : People v. Venson
Practice Area(s) : Criminal Law
Judge(s) : Per Curiam - Jansen, Beckering, and O'Brien
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Issues:

Sentencing; Scoring of OV 4; MCL 777.34; Whether serious psychological injury requiring professional treatment occurred to the victim; MCL 777.34(1)(a); MCL 777.34(2); People v. White; People v. Williams; Scoring of OV 8; MCL 777.38; Victim asportation or captivity; MCL 777.38(1)(a); People v. Barrera

Summary

Holding that the trial court did not err by scoring OV 4 at 10 points or OV 8 at 15 points, the court affirmed defendant’s conviction and sentence. He was convicted of CSC I for raping an incapacitated victim and was sentenced to 15 to 30 years. On appeal, the court rejected his argument that the trial court erred in scoring OV 4 at 10 points because there was no evidence that the victim suffered serious psychological injury. “The victim’s testimony and statements indicating that she went to therapy and was psychologically traumatized were sufficient to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that [she] suffered serious psychological injury requiring professional treatment.” It also rejected his claim that the trial court erred in scoring OV 8 at 15 points because there was no evidence that he removed the victim to another place of greater danger or held her captive beyond the time necessary to commit the charged crime. “The closed bedroom, in which the victim was isolated from [her boyfriend], was a place or situation of greater danger to the victim because it reduced the likelihood that [her boyfriend] would notice or discover the assault.”

Full PDF Opinion