State v. Barber

Citations

• 2025 Ohio 5061

Syllabus

Appellant's due process rights were not violated when the indictment charged him with two counts of rape and two counts of sexual battery, all of which alleged the same timeframe and described the offenses in terms of their statutory elements. Ohio law permits the use of statutory language in charging instruments, and the child victim described multiple incidents of the charged crimes during her forensic interview and her trial testimony. Appellant was informed of the basis of the indictment when the court held a pretrial hearing concerning the admissibility of the victim's forensic interview. Appellant's claim of insufficient evidence for his second rape and sexual battery convictions is based on alleged contradiction in the victim's testimony. Credibility is not involved in sufficiency analysis, and the victim testified to multiple incidents of sexual abuse. The State presented sufficient evidence establishing the elements of those offenses. Finally, the trial court did not err in imposing consecutive sentences for appellant's two convictions of rape of a child under ten years of age. Judgment affirmed.