Rogers v. State

550 S.W.3d 387
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedJuly 12, 2018
DocketNo. CR-17-916
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 550 S.W.3d 387 (Rogers v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rogers v. State, 550 S.W.3d 387 (Ark. 2018).

Opinions

RHONDA K. WOOD, Associate Justice

A Pulaski County jury convicted Edward Rogers of three counts of rape. On appeal, he challenges the sufficiency of the evidence, and he alleges the circuit court erroneously prohibited him from cross-examining one of the victims about her misdemeanor conviction for theft of property. We hold that the State presented evidence sufficient to convict Rogers of all three rapes. However, we find that the circuit court erred when it precluded Rogers's cross-examination of one victim's prior conviction. Nevertheless, we affirm because this error was harmless.

I. Facts

The State charged Rogers with the rape of four sisters, TB, MiB, MaB, and LW, who were all under eighteen at the time of the alleged offenses. For years, Rogers, who had a romantic relationship with their mother, lived with the girls. At trial, each sister testified about their specific sexual contacts with Rogers.

First, TB and MiB, seventeen-year-old twins, testified that Rogers acted like a father to them and that they called him "Daddy." They had known him since he began dating their mother when they were approximately five years old. At trial, they described how Rogers had raped them separately when they were thirteen, and they detailed his continued sexual contact with them. Both girls explained that the sexual contact primarily occurred when he had them alone, usually on a blow-up mattress, on the couch in the living room, or in his car. TB testified that Rogers used a "gold condom." She also testified that she witnessed Rogers sexually abusing her three sisters. MiB ultimately told her mother about the rape. MiB had behavioral problems and had run away from home. She told her mother that the reason for her behavior was that Rogers had raped her and her sisters.

MaB was sixteen years old at the time of trial. She testified that Rogers first touched her inappropriately when she was twelve years old in their living room. A few days later, when no one else was home, he raped her. She testified that he had used a condom with a gold wrapper. MaB testified that Rogers had raped her at least five times, either in the living room, her bedroom, or in his car. She also testified that she had loved Rogers and called him "Daddy" prior to the abuse.

The oldest sister, LW, was twenty-one years old at the time of trial. She also *389testified that she thought of Rogers as a father. She stated that when she was fourteen, Rogers raped her in her bedroom after school when no one else was home. Approximately one month later, he raped her again on the couch in the living room. LW testified that in total, Rogers had raped her five or six times. All four sisters testified that Rogers insinuated their mother would be harmed if they told her, and three of the sisters testified that Rogers threatened to kill himself should they inform their mother of his conduct.

The girls' mother also testified at Rogers's trial. She stated that Rogers was heavily involved in caring for the girls and that he acted as a father. In 2013, MiB told her that Rogers had touched MiB and TB inappropriately. At that time, neither of the girls disclosed that they had been raped. When the mother confronted Rogers, he told her that he had made a mistake and that it would not happen again. He moved out of the house, but the family continued to have contact with him. In November 2014, MiB disclosed to her mother that Rogers had raped her and her sisters. The mother stated that she talked to each of the girls individually and that they all confirmed the abuse. She again confronted Rogers. He told her that he had been abused as a boy, and he threatened to commit suicide. Although the mother admitted that the family struggled financially after Rogers moved out, she denied having encouraged her daughters to fabricate the allegations.

Rogers testified in his defense. He stated that he was the girls' father figure, but he denied ever touching them inappropriately. Rogers claimed that the mother had the girls manufacture the rape charges because she was mad at him.

A jury convicted Rogers of the rapes of MaB, MiB, and LW. The jury acquitted him of the rape of TB. He was sentenced to forty years' imprisonment for the rape of MaB and to two twenty-year terms of imprisonment for the rapes of MiB and LW. The jury recommended that the sentences run concurrently, and the circuit court accepted that recommendation. Rogers appealed to the court of appeals, and it reversed. Rogers v. State , 2017 Ark. App. 521, 536 S.W.3d 128. The State filed a petition for review, and we accepted review under Rule 1-2(e) of the Rules of the Arkansas Supreme Court. On review, we treat the case as if it had been originally filed in our court. Kilgore v. Mullenax , 2017 Ark. 204, 520 S.W.3d 670.

II. Sufficiency of the Evidence

Rogers's first point on appeal challenges the sufficiency of the evidence. He contends that the victims were not credible and that the prosecution presented no physical evidence of rape. The test for determining the sufficiency of the evidence is "whether the verdict is supported by substantial evidence, direct or circumstantial." Jeffries v. State , 2014 Ark. 239, 3, 434 S.W.3d 889, 893. We view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, only considering that evidence which supports the verdict. Id. Testimony of a rape victim alone constitutes sufficient evidence to support a conviction. Hanlin v. State , 356 Ark. 516, 525, 157 S.W.3d 181, 187 (2004).

At Rogers's trial, all three sisters of whom he was convicted of raping testified that Rogers had sexual intercourse with them when they were minors. Specifically, MaB testified that Rogers began touching her inappropriately when she was twelve years old and had sexual intercourse with her just days after her thirteenth birthday. MiB testified that Rogers had forced sexual contact with her when she was thirteen, and later had sexual intercourse with her on several occasions. Finally, LW testified *390that she was fourteen years old when Rogers first raped her and that it occurred repeatedly.

Here, each victim's testimony, in isolation, constitutes sufficient evidence to support the corresponding conviction. However, in this case, there was more evidence than just the victims' isolated testimony. Rogers exhibited similar behaviors in each rape.

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Related

Collins v. State
2019 Ark. 110 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2019)
Rogers v. State
558 S.W.3d 833 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2018)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
550 S.W.3d 387, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rogers-v-state-ark-2018.