Gayle v. State

Gayle v. State

Opinion

 [*657]  Forst, J.

Appellant Alvin Gayle raises three arguments on appeal regarding his conviction of and sentence for the offense of lewd or lascivious battery. We affirm the trial court on all three issues. Below, we explain our holding regarding Appellant's argument related to the hearsay nature of an exhibit introduced. We affirm on the other two issues without comment, but specifically note that our holding on Appellant's ineffective assistance claim is based on the lack of a definitively clear record at this stage of the proceeding. See Mansfield v. State, 758 So. 2d 636, 642 (Fla. 2000). Our affirmance on this issue is without prejudice to Appellant filing a motion under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 and providing evidence in the trial court to support his claim.

Background

Appellant met the victim at a party thrown by Appellant's niece, the victim's friend at the time. When the offenses [**2]  allegedly occurred, the victim was fourteen years old and Appellant was thirty-nine. Following the party at which they met, Appellant text-messaged and called the victim often. Eventually, per the State, their relationship grew sexual.

The victim testified that she and Appellant engaged in sexual relations on multiple occasions. On one particular day, Appellant  [*658]  picked the victim up from school and brought her to her house. After the victim locked the door, Appellant and the victim had sex. The victim's sister arrived home during this time. She observed Appellant come out of the victim's bedroom (the victim was in the living room). Appellant claimed to have been in the bathroom. Appellant then left in a hurry.

The victim went to the police station and had a sexual battery evidence kit assembled. At the station, the victim's phone had an "extraction" performed on it. The data from that extraction was assembled into an "Extraction Report," which contained a transcript of text messages between Appellant and the victim.

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