People v. Tucker

149 A.D.3d 1261, 52 N.Y.S.3d 142
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York·Decided April 13, 2017·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

Devine, J.

Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Schenectady County (Giardino, J.), rendered February 28, 2014, upon a verdict convicting defendant of the crime of rape in the first degree.

[1262]*1262Defendant was charged in an indictment with rape in the first degree and menacing in the second degree as the result of a 2011 incident wherein he allegedly, among other things, sexually assaulted a physically helpless victim. A trial ended in his acquittal on the menacing count and a hung jury on the rape count. Defendant was thereafter convicted, upon a retrial, of first degree rape. County Court sentenced defendant, a second felony offender, to 20 years in prison and 10 years of post-release supervision. Defendant now appeals.

Defendant asserts that the verdict was not supported by legally sufficient evidence and was against the weight of the evidence, alleging a dearth of proof as to whether the victim was “incapable of consenting] [to sexual intercourse] by reason of being physically helpless” (Penal Law § 130.35 [2]; see Penal Law § 130.00 [7]). In that regard, the victim testified that she was in defendant’s apartment at his invitation and smoking marihuana. Defendant gave her two pills to “calm [her] down” and, despite already having smoked marihuana and being on an array of medication for mental health issues, she felt “pressured” to take them and did so. The victim then lay inert on his bed, fully clothed, and lost consciousness while defendant crawled on top of her and kissed her. She woke up a few minutes later with vaginal discomfort and no pants or underwear on, leading her to realize that defendant had violated her while she was asleep. Her suspicions were confirmed by a sexual assault examination and DNA testing.

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People v. Tucker, 149 A.D.3d 1261, 52 N.Y.S.3d 142 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2017).

149 A.D.3d 1261 (People v. Tucker) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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