State v. Keller

Citations

• 2018 Ohio 4107

Syllabus

Rape, substantially impaired, knowledge, voluntary intoxication, sleep, Evid.R. 403(A), flight. Defendant's rape conviction is upheld where sufficient evidence was presented that the defendant knew or had reasonable cause to believe that the victim was substantially impaired. The evidence showed that the defendant was with the victim while she consumed alcohol and smoked marijuana. The victim was also asleep when the rape occurred. The trial court allowed irrelevant testimony to be presented, but the error was harmless because both the victim and the defendant testified, allowing the jury to assess their credibility without relying on irrelevant testimony. The jury instruction on flight was harmless error because the defendant testified about his motives for leaving the scene.