Austin Myersv.The State
Austin Myers was convicted of interfering with the lawful custody of a sixteen-year-old child after communicating with her online, arranging for her to leave her grandparents’ home, and transporting her to Missouri. He challenged the sufficiency of the evidence, the denial of his speedy-trial motion, the admission of evidence concerning sexual acts with the child, and his trial counsel’s effectiveness. The Court of Appeals of Georgia held that the evidence supported the conviction, the speedy-trial ruling was not an abuse of discretion, the challenged evidence was admissible as intrinsic evidence explaining context and motive, and the ineffective-assistance claim failed. The court nevertheless held that the trial court imposed an illegal sentencing condition by requiring Myers to register as a sex offender based on the custody-interference conviction. That offense did not qualify as a sexual offense against a minor, and the State did not establish another qualifying conviction supporting the condition. The court affirmed the conviction, vacated the improper registration condition, and remanded for resentencing consistent with the opinion.
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