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Kenneth Howard Williamsv.The State

CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Docket No.A18A0279
DecidedJune 7, 2018
Reporter340 Ga. App. 96
JudgesCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Tags
CriminalCriminal LawCriminal ProcedureSex CrimesEvidenceSufficiency of the EvidenceReversalRemandTales From the Crypt
Case Summary

A jury convicted Kenneth Williams of two counts of child molestation and one count of aggravated sexual battery based on evidence that he touched his young step-grandchild. The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the child-molestation convictions but reversed the aggravated-sexual-battery conviction and remanded for a new trial. The evidence was sufficient for a jury to find that Williams’s finger penetrated the child’s vagina, even though the child gave some inconsistent or developmentally limited testimony at trial; other statements and the forensic interview supplied evidence of penetration and lack of consent. The court nevertheless was required to reverse the aggravated-sexual-battery conviction under controlling Supreme Court of Georgia precedent concerning the offense. The court declined to address additional ineffective-assistance claims tied only to that count because they were moot or unlikely to recur in the retrial. The child-molestation convictions remained intact, while the aggravated-sexual-battery charge returned to the trial court for further proceedings.

Opinion

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