Parfenuk v. State

The defendant was entitled to a new trial following his convictions for child molestation, because the trial court erred in allowing the State to admit testimony regarding the results of a lie detector test.

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Michael Peter Parfenuk was convicted on two counts of child molestation as well as two counts of sexual battery that were merged into the convictions for child molestation for sentencing. Parfenuk was sentenced to consecutive 20-year terms for the child molestation. On appeal, he contends that the trial court erred by ruling that Parfenuk opened the door to admission of a lie detector test. He also contends that he should be sentenced only for sexual battery based on the rule of lenity and that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to argue the rule of lenity at sentencing. For the reasons stated below, we reverse.

Construed in favor of the verdict,1 the evidence shows that the 14-year-old female victim reported to 911, her parents, her grandmother, a counselor, and a school resource officer that Parfenuk, age 59 at the time, had kissed her and touched her on the breasts and vaginal area while she was visiting his home; she initially reported that she had been raped, but in the conversation with her mother she clarified that Parfenuk only had touched her.2 The police were called, and Parfenuk was arrested on the day of the incident and gave a statement to the police. At trial, Parfenuk testified in his own defense, and, among other things, admitted that he told someone that he had known the victim for years and that he fulfilled two roles in her life, as a father figure and as a boyfriend figure. Although Parfenuk did not mention doing so in the statement that he filled out for the police on the day of the incident, Parfenuk admitted at trial that he had kissed the victim on the lips. Parfenuk also testified on direct examination that he often had young girls at his home and that he often gave them a peck on the lips. He made these admissions during a lengthy narrative explanation of the sequence of events on the day of the incident, including his questioning by police. At the end of the narrative, not in response to any question, Parfenuk testified as follows:

Parfenuk v. State

The defendant was entitled to a new trial following his convictions for child molestation, because the trial court erred in allowing the State to admit testimony regarding the results of a lie detector test.

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