Com. v. Williamson, R. ( 2023 )

J-A02027-23
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
:
v. :
:
:
RICHARD L. WILLIAMSON :
:
Appellant : No. 101 WDA 2022
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered December 20, 2021
In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County
Criminal Division at No(s): CP-02-CR-0003173-2019
BEFORE: BOWES, J., MURRAY, J., and PELLEGRINI, J.*
MEMORANDUM BY MURRAY, J.: FILED: FEBRUARY 13, 2023
Richard Williamson (Appellant) appeals from the judgment of sentence
imposed after the trial court convicted him of invasion of privacy and
disorderly conduct.1 We affirm.
The trial court detailed the underlying facts as follows:
At the trial the Commonwealth offered testimony from the
victim, K.Z., that on October 19, 2018, she entered the Wendy’s
restaurant located on Rodi Road in Penn Hills. As confirmed
through the business video surveillance footage, K.Z. immediately
proceeded to the restroom after entering the restaurant. Seconds
later, Appellant is observed walking towards the restroom, when
he then paused, turned in the direction of the men’s room, and
then looked behind himself before he walked into the women’s
restroom. K.Z. testified that while seated in a stall and partially
undressed while using the toilet, she heard someone enter the
bathroom. The bathroom housed only two bathroom stalls and
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* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.
1 18 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 7507.1 and 5503(a)(4).
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K.Z. observed the person enter the adjoining stall. She could see
a pair of black shoes and the bottom of the person’s pants facing
the toilet. This caught her attention as it was a woman’s restroom
and feet would be facing the front of the stall. She then watched
as both feet disappeared from her sight, which caused her to look
up. At this time she saw Appellant looking down at her over the
wall of the adjoining stall. She attempted to cover herself as her
front and buttock were exposed while screaming at Appellant to
“Get out of here.” and “What the fuck are you doing?” She
described that Appellant[] appeared to be shocked as she was
looking up at him and mumbled what sounded like an apology.
She then jammed her foot up against the door, and did not exit
the bathroom until after she heard the door closed. She
approached the front of the restaurant asking for the manager and
screaming that a man was in the bathroom. During this time, she
witnessed Appellant exit the men’s room and confronted him
about what happened. Appellant denied that he had done
anything and remained inside the Wendy’s while he ordered food.
K.Z. left the restaurant and after returning home called the Penn
Hills police to report the incident. At no time did K.Z. observe
Appellant gratify himself during the incident in the woman’s
bathroom. The court also heard from Detective William Skweres
from the Penn Hills Police Department who became involved a few
days after the October 19, 2018 incident. As part of his
investigation, he obtained the surveillance footage from inside the
Wendy’s which was admitted as an exhibit by the Commonwealth.
Additionally, he interviewed Appellant on December 13, 2018.
While questioning Appellant regarding the events of October 19,
2018, Appellant admitted that he entered the woman’s room while
at this Wendy’s location. However, he explained that he
attempted to enter the men’s room but the door was locked, and
feeling like he could not wait to use the bathroom, he entered the
women’s restroom. He denied looking into the adjoining stall and
left the bathroom after K.Z. screamed.
During his testimony Appellant confirmed the events as they
appeared on the surveillance video, but his testimony diverged
from that offered by K.Z. regarding the events not captured on
video. As captured by the video surveillance, Appellant admitted
entering the women’s restroom, but denied that he ever looked
over the stall. Contrary to Detective Skweres’ testimony,
Appellant also offered that he mistakenly entered the woman’s
restroom because he did not pay attention to the signs on the
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doors because he had consumed alcohol and marijuana prior to
entering Wendy’s on that day. Moreover, he testified that he did
not recall telling the Detective Skweres that he first attempted to
enter the men’s room, but it was locked. After entering the
women’s room, he explained that after he entered a stall and
unzipped his pants [and] he heard a woman scream for him to get
out. Appellant then exited and immediately entered the men’s
room, whereupon leaving, he was confronted by K.Z. He
explained that despite being confronted by K.Z. he did not
immediately leave Wendy’s, but stayed and ordered food.
Trial Court Opinion, 5/19/22, at 3-5 (footnotes omitted).
The Commonwealth charged Appellant with invasion of privacy and
disorderly conduct. On September 30, 2021, the trial court held a non-jury
trial and convicted Appellant of both charges. The trial court deferred
sentencing for the preparation of a pre-sentence investigation report. On
December 20, 2021, the trial court sentenced Appellant to an aggregate one-
year of probation. Appellant did not file a post-sentence motion. This timely
appeal followed.2
Appellant presents the following issues:
A. Whether 18 Pa.C.S. § 7507.1 (Invasion of Privacy) is
unconstitutional and void for vagueness ─ due to ambiguity
where the word “arousing” is not defined thereunder ─ because
it fails in its definitiveness or adequacy of expression and does
not provide reasonable standards by which a person may
gauge his future conduct[?]
B. Whether the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction
for Invasion of Privacy?
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2 Appellant and the trial court complied with Pa.R.A.P. 1925.
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Appellant’s Brief at 4.
Appellant first contends the invasion of privacy statute, 18 Pa.C.S.A. §
7507.1, is unconstitutionally vague. Appellant’s Brief at 10-12. Appellant
asserts “the word ‘arousing’ is not defined, resulting in the statute being
constitutionally vague and ambiguous because a person of common
intelligence must guess its meaning and differ as to its use.” Id. at 9.
The constitutionality of a statute is a question of law; therefore, our
review is plenary. Commonwealth v. Crawford, 24 A.3d 396, 400 (Pa.
Super. 2011). “The constitutional validity of duly enacted legislation is
presumed. The party seeking to overcome the presumption of validity must
meet a formidable burden.” Id. “A statute will not be declared
unconstitutional unless it clearly, palpably, and plainly violates the
Constitution; all doubts are to be resolved in favor of a finding of
constitutionality.” Id.Here, the trial court found:
Appellant failed to preserve this issue by filing the proper motion
before the trial court. “The law is clear that ‘issues, even those of
constitutional dimension, are waived if not raised in the trial court.
A new and different theory of relief may not be successfully
advanced for the first time on appeal.’” Commonwealth v.
Cline, 177 A.3d 922, 927 (Pa. Super. 2017) citing
Commonwealth v. Santiago, 980 A.2d 659,666 (Pa. Super.
2009). Based on the holding in Cline, [this claim is] waived.
Trial Court Opinion, 5/19/22, at 5.
The Commonwealth agrees the issue is waived, stating:
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[Appellant’s c]onstitutional claim is waived because he never
raised it in the court below. See Commonwealth v. Feliciano,
884 A.2d 901, 904 (Pa. Super. 2005), citing Commonwealth v.
Lawson, 789 A.2d 252, 253 (Pa. Super. 2001) (even claims of
constitutional dimension are waived when raised for the first time
on appeal). Because the issue was not properly preserved for
review, it cannot be addressed here.
Commonwealth’s Brief at 17.
We have thoroughly reviewed the record and agree with the trial court
and Commonwealth. Appellant failed to preserve this claim because he raised
it for the first time in his Rule 1925(b) statement. 3 Concise Statement of
Matters Complained of on Appeal, 2/17/22, at 2 (unnumbered). It is well-
settled that issues raised for the first time in a Rule 1925(b) statement are
waived. Commonwealth v. Coleman, 19 A.3d 1111, 1118 (Pa. Super.
2011); Pa.R.A.P. 302(a). Because Appellant waived his constitutional
challenge to the invasion of privacy statute, we decline to address it. See
Cline, 177 A.3d at 927; see also Commonwealth v. Jefferson, 256 A.3d
1242, 1261 (Pa. Super. 2021) (en banc) (Bowes, J., concurring) (“Likewise, it
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3 The record indicates Appellant did not file any pre- or post-trial motions.
Also, Appellant did not challenge the statute’s constitutionality in closing
arguments. See N.T., 9/30/21, at 80-88 (arguing K.Z. and the police were
not credible).
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has long been true that failure to raise an issue in the trial court, even one of
constitutional dimension, results in waiver of the issue on appeal.”).4
In his second issue, Appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence
supporting his conviction for invasion of privacy. Appellant’s Brief at 13-15.
Appellant claims the evidence “was insufficient that [Appellant] knowingly
viewed [K.Z.] for the purpose of arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of
any person.” Id. at 13.
We again address whether Appellant preserved this claim. To “preserve
a sufficiency claim, the Rule 1925(b) statement must specify the element or
elements upon which the evidence was insufficient.” Commonwealth v.
Widger, 237 A.3d 1151, 1156 (Pa. Super. 2020) (emphasis added). If the
appellant does not specify such elements, the sufficiency claim is deemed
waived. Commonwealth v. Roche, 153 A.3d 1063, 1072 (Pa. Super. 2017).
Appellant presented a boilerplate challenge to the sufficiency of the
evidence in his Rule 1925(b) statement; he failed to specify the element or
elements for which the evidence was insufficient. See Concise Statement of
Matters Complained of on Appeal, 2/17/22, at 2 (unnumbered) (stating,
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4Were we to address Appellant’s claim, we would not grant relief. While there
appear to be no published decisions addressing the constitutionality of 18
Pa.C.S.A. § 7507.1, this Court rejected a constitutionality claim in
Commonwealth v. Kent, 415 MDA 2016 (Pa. Super. Jan. 12, 2017)
(unpublished memorandum). The decision is non-precedential but instructive.
Id. at *3-5.
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“Whether the conviction was against the weight of the evidence and there was
insufficient evidence presented to support the conviction regarding Invasion
of Privacy.”). Because of this deficiency, the trial court declined to address
the issue in its Rule 1925(a) opinion. See Trial Court Opinion, 5/19/22, at 8
(trial court stating, “In light of the historical precedent of our appellate courts,
the claim that the conviction for Invasion of Privacy was not supported by
sufficient evidence is waived for vagueness.”). We agree.
However, in the absence of waiver, Appellant’s sufficiency challenge
would lack merit.
When reviewing a sufficiency of the evidence claim, this Court
must view the evidence and all reasonable inferences to be drawn
from the evidence in the light most favorable to the
Commonwealth as verdict winner, and we must determine if the
evidence, thus viewed, is sufficient to prove guilt beyond a
reasonable doubt. This Court may not substitute its judgment for
that of the factfinder. If the record contains support for the
verdict, it may not be disturbed. Moreover, a jury may believe all,
some or none of a party’s testimony.
Commonwealth v. Burns, 765 A.2d 1144, 1148 (Pa. Super. 2020) (citations
omitted). “The Commonwealth may sustain its burden by means of wholly
circumstantial evidence[.]” Commonwealth v. Brown, 48 A.3d 426, 430
(Pa. Super. 2012).
The invasion of privacy statute provides:
(a) Offense defined.--Except as set forth in subsection (d), a
person commits the offense of invasion of privacy if he, for the
purpose of arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of any
person, knowingly does any of the following:
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(1) Views, photographs, videotapes, electronically depicts,
films or otherwise records another person without that
person’s knowledge and consent while that person is in a
state of full or partial nudity and is in a place where that
person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
18 Pa.C.S.A. § 7507.1(a)(1) (emphasis added).
Appellant argues
the evidence was insufficient that [Appellant] knowingly viewed
the complainant for the purpose of [] arousing or gratifying the
sexual desire of any person. First, there was no testimony from
[K.Z.] or [Appellant] that when he entered and left the ladies room
that anyone was even remotely sexually aroused or gratifying
themselves. [K.Z.] never testified she saw [Appellant] aroused
and gratifying himself in any manner, nor did she ever tell the
police that [Appellant] saw her naked or her buttocks.
Appellant’s Brief at 13-14 (record citations omitted).
Appellant improperly relies on this Court’s decision in Commonwealth
v. Dinell, 270 A.3d 530, 535 (Pa. Super. 2022). Id. at 13. In Dinell, the
Commonwealth charged the defendant with invasion of privacy for taking nude
and partially nude photographs of residents at the care home where he
worked. Dinell, 270 A.3d at 532. The defendant entered an open guilty plea,
admitted to taking the photographs, but stated during his colloquy “there was
nothing sexual about” his taking the pictures. Id. at 534.
His attorney then incorrectly advised him that acting with a sexual intent was
“not an element” of invasion of privacy, and the defendant pled guilty. Id.
The trial court nonetheless proceeded to sentence Appellant, who
subsequently sought to withdraw his plea on the basis that he had denied an
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element of the offense, i.e., sexual desire. Id. at 534-35. The trial court
denied the defendant’s request to withdraw his plea. This Court reversed. We
held the plea colloquy was inadequate because the defendant was not properly
informed of the elements of the offense and he specifically denied one of the
elements. Id. at 535-36. Thus, we determined there was not a sufficient
factual basis for the plea. Under Dinell, a defendant must be correctly
informed of the elements of the offense and admit to all of the elements for a
guilty plea to be knowing, intelligent and voluntary. Id. at 536-37. Thus,
Dinell is both procedurally and factually inapposite.
In Commonwealth v. Knouse, 1290 MDA 2021 (Pa. Super. July 5,
2022) (unpublished memorandum)5, this Court declined to expand the holding
in Dinell to a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence.6 A jury found the
defendant in Knouse guilty of indecent assault based on his touching and
rubbing a clothed 11-year-old girl’s vagina. Knouse, 1290 MDA 2021, at *1.
Indecent assault, like invasion of privacy, requires a finding that the defendant
had “indecent contact with the complainant … for the purpose of arousing
sexual desire ….” Id. at *2; see also 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 3126(a). Relying on
Dinell, the defendant in Knouse argued the evidence was insufficient to
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5Non-precedential memoranda of the Superior Court filed after May 1, 2019,
may be cited for persuasive value. Pa.R.A.P. 126(b).
6 President Judge Emeritus Bender authored the Dinell and Knouse decisions.
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sustain his conviction because “the intent behind the act is a separate element
from the act itself,” and thus “the Commonwealth must prove an intent to
induce sexual arousal as a separate element from the act of contact.” Id. at
*4. We disagreed. This Court expressly “reject[ed] Appellant’s interpretation
of Dinell as suggesting that there must always be other evidence in addition
to the defendant’s act of touching to prove that he had the intent to arouse or
gratify sexual desire.” Id. (emphasis in original).
Instantly, we reject Appellant’s claim that his intent to arouse or gratify
sexual desire cannot be inferred from the circumstances presented at trial.
Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, the
record supports a finding that Appellant acted to arouse or gratify sexual
desire.
Video showed Appellant follow K.Z. as she walked toward the ladies’
restroom. N.T., 9/30/21, at 28. The video further depicted Appellant looking
around before entering the ladies’ restroom. Id. at 28, 30, 66-68. K.Z.
testified that she heard someone enter the stall next to her, noticed a pair of
shoes facing the toilet seat, and then saw Appellant staring at her from above
the adjacent stall. Id. at 17-18, 33-34. K.Z. testified that her buttocks and
genitals were exposed at the time. Id. at 18. When she began screaming,
Appellant fled. Id. at 18-19, 35-36. Appellant subsequently told police that
he entered the ladies’ room because the door to the men’s room was locked.
Id. at 44. Appellant denied viewing K.Z. Id. at 43-45. At trial, when
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confronted with video showing that the mens’ restroom door subsequently
opened for Appellant, Appellant claimed he was drunk and high at the time
and entered the ladies’ room by mistake. Id. at 26-30, 57, 59-60, 64-65, 69,
72. Appellant denied that he climbed the toilet seat to look at K.Z. Id. at 26-
30, 57, 59-60, 64-65, 69, 72.
After hearing the evidence (and view the video) the trial court credited
the testimony of K.Z. and the police and exercised its discretion in convicted
Appellant of invasion of privacy. Therefore, even if Appellant had not waived
this claim, he would not have prevailed on his sufficiency challenge. See
Knouse, supra at *4; see e.g., Commonwealth v. Smith, 863 A.2d 1172,
1177 (Pa. Super. 2004) (holding defendant’s touching of victim’s breast and
vagina sufficient to establish indecent contact to arouse or gratify sexual
desire); Commonwealth v. McClintic, 851 A.2d 214 (Pa. Super. 2004),
rev'd on other grounds, 909 A.2d 1241 (Pa. 2006) (holding burglar’s
intentional grab and pinch of victim’s breast was sufficient for fact finder to
conclude touching was for the purpose of sexual gratification).
Judgment of sentence affirmed.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 2/13/2023
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