Simmons v. State
| Docket Number: | 2010-KA-00259-COA Linked Case(s): 2010-KA-00259-COA ; 2010-CT-00259-SCT |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 03-29-2011 Opinion Author: Irving, P.J. Holding: Affirmed. |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Sexual battery - Sufficiency of evidence Judge(s) Concurring: Lee, C.J., Griffis, P.J., Myers, Barnes, Ishee, Roberts, Carlton and Maxwell, JJ. Procedural History: JNOV Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 01-15-2010 Appealed from: Jackson County Circuit Court Judge: Kathy King Jackson Disposition: Convicted of Sexual Battery and Sentenced to Thirty Years in the Custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, With Twenty-Five Years to Serve and Five Years of Post-Release Supervision District Attorney: Anthony N. Lawrence, III Case Number: 2009-10,227(2) |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | Maney Simmons, Jr. |
HUNTER N. AIKENS |
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| Appellee: | State of Mississippi | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: JOHN R. HENRY JR. | ||
Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Sexual battery - Sufficiency of evidence |
| Summary of the Facts: | Maney Simmons Jr. was convicted of sexual battery and sentenced to thirty years, with twenty-five years to serve and five years of post-release supervision. Simmons appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Simmons argues that there was insufficient evidence to support the jury’s verdict and points to the victim’s prior inconsistent statements and the lack of physical evidence. The unsupported word of the victim of a sex crime is sufficient to support a guilty verdict where that testimony is not discredited or contradicted by other credible evidence. While the victim did not initially reveal any sexual abuse to the police, the next day, she told a nurse that Simmons had performed oral sex on her. During her taped interview with a detective, she denied that Simmons had performed oral sex on her. However, the detective testified that the victim told her either before or after the taped portion of the interview that Simmons had performed oral sex on her. When asked why she did not initially report the sexual abuse to the police and later denied during her taped interview with the detective that any abuse had occurred, the victim testified that she was scared. Her testimony was not sufficiently discredited to warrant setting aside the conviction. Also, the lack of physical evidence does not render the evidence legally insufficient. As the nurse noted in her testimony, it was unlikely that any physical evidence would be recovered, given that two weeks had passed since Simmons had last performed oral sex on the victim. |
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