DES MOINES – A Crystal Lake man will be re-sentenced after an appeals court found errors in his sentencing for a violent sex assault upon a teen victim.
Zachary Vulich, age 26, appealed his convictions for one count of sexual abuse in the third degree, and one count of assault while using an object to penetrate the genitalia of another person.
According to court records, on November 12, 2013, the complaining witness, who was sixteen years old at the time, went to Vulich’s house with her older sister. After they arrived, the complaining witness played games on her phone while her older sister talked with Vulich. A short time later, the three were in the basement, and Vulich made sexually-suggestive comments to the complaining witness, including indicating he wanted to have a “three-way” with the complaining witness and her older sister. The complaining witness told Vulich she did not like the comments and asked him to stop.
Later, the complaining witness was sitting in the living room while Vulich and the older sister were in the kitchen. Vulich and the older sister were dropping ice down each other’s shirts and pants, and the older sister called the complaining witness into the kitchen. The complaining witness attempted to shove ice down Vulich’s shirt. Then, Vulich shoved ice down the front of the complaining witness’s shirt and pants, touching her skin.
Despite the complaining witness’s pleas to stop, Vulich pushed her to the floor, held her down with his arm while positioning his body to pin her to the floor, reached inside of her underwear, and shoved an ice cube into her vagina. Vulich also continued touching the complaining witness’s vagina with his hand for a couple minutes. The complaining witness was screaming and telling Vulich to stop while this happened. Vulich then turned his attention to the older sister. A few minutes later, Vulich again shoved the complaining witness to the floor in the dining room and shoved ice inside her vagina. During the second occurrence, Vulich summoned the older sister to assist him by holding the complaining witness’s arms down. After the complaining witness struggled to breath and nearly blacked out, Vulich got off of her. She quickly left the house.
On January 21, 2014, the State charged Vulich with two counts sexual abuse in the third degree, which was amended on December 21 to one count of sexual abuse in the third degree and one count of assault while using an object to penetrate the genitalia of another person. On September 10, 2015, a jury found Vulich guilty of both counts.
On September 11, Vulich filed a motion for new trial, which challenged the court’s denial of his request for a consent instruction as well as an age-of-consent instruction. On November 3, after hearing the arguments of counsel, the court denied the motion for a new trial and sentenced Vulich to a term of imprisonment and lifetime supervision
Upon appeal, Vulich asserts: (1) there was insufficient evidence to support his convictions, (2) his counsel was ineffective for failing to object to expert testimony that he claims impermissibly boosted the victim’s credibility, (3) the district court erred in refusing to give two instructions he requested, and (4) the district court imposed an illegal sentence.
The Iowa Court of Appeals rejected Vulich’s claims regarding the sufficiency of the evidence, ineffective assistance of counsel, and his requested instructions, and affirmed his convictions.
However, the court agreed that the district court imposed an inapplicable special sentence, and vacated his sentence and remanded to a lower court for a corrected sentencing order.
