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Wagner v. State2/21/2002
Clarence Wagner was indicted by a Fulton County grand jury for the offenses of rape, statutory rape, and aggravated child molestation. He was tried by a jury. The trial court directed a verdict on the child molestation charge at the close of the State's case and the jury found Wagner guilty of the remaining two counts. Following the denial of his amended motion for new trial, Wagner appeals from the judgment of conviction and sentence. He raises eight enumerations of error, challenging the admission of certain evidence, the trial court's refusal to allow him to introduce evidence of prior false accusations by the victim or to impeach the victim's testimony on cross-examination, the trial court's excusing a juror for cause and failure to exclude a different juror for cause, and the trial court's denial of his motion for mistrial based on juror misconduct. We find no reversible error, and we affirm.
Construed to support the jury's verdict, the evidence presented at trial showed that the victim, who was 14 at the time, was living with her aunt when the incident occurred. Wagner, who was the victim's cousin, and Deon Warner, her uncle, visited the home during the early morning hours of April 11, 1996. The victim testified that while she was speaking on the telephone in a bedroom, Wagner came in and lay down close to her on the bed, prompting her to move to another room so she could continue her telephone conversation in privacy. Wagner knocked on the door of that room and told her to follow him downstairs so she could lock the door when he left. When she did so, however, Wagner grabbed the phone, pushed the victim into the room, and "snatched" off her shirt and her bra, then her jeans. When the victim began screaming, Wagner grabbed her under the arms and forced her into a different room. Although she told him she was "too young for that to happen to me," and she was "screaming and hollering for" her uncle, he "slammed" her on the bed, penetrated her, and then hit her. When he finished, before leaving he told her "how sorry he was and that he was sick." The victim told her uncle that Wagner had raped her, and her uncle called the police. The victim was taken to the hospital, where she was examined by a doctor. A rape kit was not performed, but the victim testified that hair and semen samples were collected.
Warner testified that Wagner had just been released from jail and he and Wagner had been out celebrating. They did not have a ride back to Warner's home, so they decided to spend the night at Warner's sister's home, where the victim was staying. At about 5:00 a.m., the victim came running downstairs, "crying hysterically." She reported that Wagner had raped her, and confirmed upon questioning that he had penetrated her. He called the police, who responded and drove them to the hospital.
A City of Atlanta Police Department detective was called to investigate. He testified that the victim first appeared to be upset, somewhat confused, and reluctant to speak to him, but she later "opened up" and discussed the rape with him. After learning where Wagner was located, he obtained an arrest warrant, and Wagner was arrested.
1. Wagner challenges the admission of evidence placing his character in issue.
(a) He maintains that his right to due process of law under the Georgia and United States Constitutions was violated when the trial court allowed the State to introduce evidence of his previous conviction for aggravated assault as a similar transaction. He maintains it was not sufficiently similar because in the prior crime, the sexual assault was on an adult woman, whereas in the charged incident, the victim was a minor. The trial court "reluctantly" admitted this
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