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Hurst v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia
Jan 24, 1991
401 S.E.2d 348 (Ga. Ct. App. 1991)

Opinion

A90A1909.

DECIDED JANUARY 24, 1991.

Child molestation. Colquitt Superior Court. Before Judge Horkan.

Kirbo McCalley, Thomas L. Kirbo III, for appellant.

H. Lamar Cole, District Attorney, Charles M. Stines, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.


Hayward Hurst was charged with ten counts of child molestation and convicted of five of those counts. He appeals.

1. The record reveals that all three molestation victims, ranging in age from nine to 13 at the time of trial, testified in court. Thus, statements made by the children describing the sexual acts committed by appellant were admissible in evidence by the testimony of the persons to whom made. OCGA § 24-3-16. See also Reynolds v. State, 257 Ga. 725 (1) ( 363 S.E.2d 249) (1988). Accordingly, we find no merit in appellant's first and third enumerations contending error in the admission of testimony by numerous persons to whom the victims had made statements. Appellant raised no objection at trial to the court's failure to make a finding that the victims' statements possessed sufficient indicia of reliability, and thus we will not address that argument made for the first time on appeal. See generally Brinson v. State, 191 Ga. App. 151, 152 (3) ( 381 S.E.2d 292) (1989)

2. Appellant contends the trial court erred by excluding his evidence concerning the eldest victim's alleged sexual predispositions and prior sexual behavior. The rule is well established that where the testimony does not involve expert testimony or the child abuse syndrome, the past sexual experience of a child is irrelevant to the issue whether molestation was committed by the defendant on trial. Chastain v. State, 180 Ga. App. 312, 313 (2) ( 349 S.E.2d 6) (1986), aff'd 257 Ga. 54 ( 354 S.E.2d 421) (1987). We are not persuaded by appellant's arguments that the facts of this case require a modification of that rule.

3. We have reviewed the evidence adduced at trial, including the testimony of the victims describing the acts of molestation and identifying appellant as the perpetrator of those acts, the testimony by the adults who investigated the eldest victim's disclosure of the molestation, and the expert medical testimony regarding the physical manifestations of the molestation. We find this evidence sufficient to have enabled a rational trier of fact to find appellant guilty of the five counts of molestation under the standard set forth in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560) (1979). See Fields v. State, 194 Ga. App. 149, 150 (1) ( 390 S.E.2d 71) (1990). Therefore, we find no error in the trial court's denial of appellant's motion for a new trial.

4. This court will not consider factual allegations in the briefs of parties which are not supported by evidence contained in the record. Bonds v. State, 188 Ga. App. 135 ( 372 S.E.2d 448) (1988). Since the record reveals that the trial court imposed one sentence for counts 1, 2, 3, and 6, we find no merit in appellant's final enumeration that the trial court erroneously sentenced appellant on each of these counts.

Judgment affirmed. McMurray, P. J., and Carley, J., concur.


DECIDED JANUARY 24, 1991.


Summaries of

Hurst v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia
Jan 24, 1991
401 S.E.2d 348 (Ga. Ct. App. 1991)
Case details for

Hurst v. State

Case Details

Full title:HURST v. THE STATE

Court:Court of Appeals of Georgia

Date published: Jan 24, 1991

Citations

401 S.E.2d 348 (Ga. Ct. App. 1991)
401 S.E.2d 348

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