State v. Harris

Citations

• 2025 Ohio 4374

Syllabus

R.C. 2907.02(A)(1)(c); rape; substantial impairment; knowledge; knowingly; intoxication; consent; sufficiency; manifest weight; Crim.R. 29; jury instructions; mens rea; R.C. 2929.19(B)(5); fine; ability to pay. Judgment affirmed. Appellant's conviction of rape involving a substantially impaired victim in violation of R.C. 2907.02(A)(1)(c) was supported by sufficient evidence and was not against the manifest weight of the evidence. The victim testified that she was intoxicated, passed out, and awoke to find appellant already engaged in intercourse. The victim's testimony alone was sufficient under governing law to support the conviction, and there was nothing to suggest the jury lost its way and created a miscarriage of justice by finding appellant guilty. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by failing to provide a separate instruction defining \knowingly.\ The standard OJI rape instruction adequately conveyed the mens rea element. With respect to the $5,000 fine, the trial court sufficiently considered appellant's present and future ability to pay under R.C. 2929.19(B)(5).