## Facts

- A woman alleged Ronald Dean Rummer accosted her and, during a single brief episode, touched her breasts with one hand while rubbing her genitals with the other.
- West Virginia’s first-degree sexual abuse statute required “sexual contact.”
- “Sexual contact” was statutorily defined to include touching the anus, breast, or sexual organs of another for sexual arousal or gratification.

## Issues

1. Whether two convictions and sentences for first-degree sexual abuse, based on contemporaneous touching of the victim’s breasts and genitals during one episode, imposed multiple punishments for the same offense in violation of West Virginia’s constitutional protection against double jeopardy.
2. Whether the statutory definition of “sexual contact” reflects legislative intent to authorize separate punishments for each distinct enumerated act of sexual contact, even when committed in a single incident.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed.
- The court held that the enumerated acts within the statutory definition of “sexual contact” are distinct acts, each requiring proof of a different fact (the specific body part touched).
- Because each count required proof of a fact the other did not, the two convictions and concurrent sentences did not violate double jeopardy protections against multiple punishments for the same offense.

## Legal Principles

- West Virginia’s double jeopardy clause prohibits multiple punishments for the same offense; when multiple punishments are imposed after a single trial, the controlling inquiry is legislative intent as to punishment.
- Courts first examine statutory language (and, if needed, legislative history) for a clear intent regarding cumulative punishment; absent clear intent, courts apply the Blockburger “same elements” test.
- Under Blockburger, if each offense requires proof of an additional fact the other does not, courts presume the legislature intended separate offenses and punishments.
- For first-degree sexual abuse, “sexual contact” is defined by multiple separate acts (e.g., touching breast, sexual organs, or anus); each requires proof of a different fact, so multiple convictions may be imposed when a defendant commits more than one enumerated act against a victim, even in one episode.

## Conclusion

West Virginia permitted separate first-degree sexual abuse convictions for touching the victim’s breasts and genitals during a single incident because the statute defines “sexual contact” as multiple distinct acts, each requiring different proof, and cumulative punishment for multiple acts does not violate double jeopardy.


State v. Rummer, 432 S.E.2d 39 (W. Va. 1993)