Opinion
Nos. 05-05-01295-CR, 05-05-01296-CR, 05-05-01297-CR, 05-05-01298-CR
Opinion filed August 1, 2006. DO NOT PUBLISH. Tex.R.App.P. 47.
On Appeal from the 204th Criminal District Court, Dallas County, Texas, Trial Court Cause Nos. F05-34819-Q, F05-34820-Q, F04-36206-Q, F04-36207-Q. Affirm.
Before Justices FITZGERALD, FRANCIS, and LANG-MIERS.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Athena Darlene Stoddard pleaded guilty to two charges of compelling prostitution (cause numbers 05-05-01296-CR and 05-05-01297-CR and trial court cause numbers F05-34820-Q and F04-36206-Q) and not guilty to two charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child (cause numbers 05-05-01295-CR and 05-05-01298-CR and trial court cause numbers F05-34189-Q F04-36207-Q). Following a bench trial, the court found appellant guilty of all charges and sentenced her to twenty years' confinement in each of the compelling prostitution cases and thirty-five years' confinement in each of the aggravated sexual assault cases. In her sole issue on appeal, appellant contends the trial court erred by permitting the investigating police officer to testify that appellant deserved the maximum sentence. Because all dispositive issues are settled in law, we issue this memorandum opinion. Tex.R.App.P. 47.2(a), 47.4. In October 2004, Stoddard's minor daughter, K.A., flagged down a police officer and reported that Stoddard had physically attacked her the previous night. K.A. told the officer that Stoddard had been prostituting her since middle school by taking her to apartment complexes on paydays to solicit sexual partners. After Stoddard collected payment, K.A. performed sexual services at various locations, including vacant apartments, laundry facilities, outdoors, or in the home she and Stoddard shared. K.A. said she performed sexual acts for money with at least 100 men, usually on a weekly basis and, at times, with multiple partners in a day. Appellant contends she was eligible for probation, but was sentenced to confinement and suffered egregious harm as a result of the following testimony of the investigating police officer:
[OFFICER]: Again, your Honor, I did child abuse with CPS for six years and I have been working in this agency in the domestic violence unit for almost two years. As I said in the beginning, to me, this is — for a mother to take her child, her only child, and do this to her is one of the most despicable things that I've ever seen. And I feel that the defendant deserves the steepest penalty the law has. And that's what I want to tell you today. (emphasis added)
THE COURT: Thank you.To preserve a complaint about the admission of evidence for appellate review, a party must present the trial court with a proper and specific objection at the time the evidence was offered and obtain a ruling. See Tex.R.App.P. 33.1(a)(1)(A); Moff v. State, 131 S.W.3d 485, 489 (Tex.Crim.App. 2004). Although appellant objected to prior testimony of this witness, appellant did not object to the testimony she now complains about on appeal. As a result, she presents nothing for our review. Accordingly, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.