State v. Kish

Citations

• 2026 Ohio 2409

Syllabus

Child endangerment; retaliation; competency; admission of evidence; sufficiency; weight of the evidence; presentence-investigation report; consecutive sentences. Judgment affirmed in part and reversed in part. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by finding the children competent to testify. The totality of the record demonstrated that the children were able to perceive impressions of fact and communicate them truthfully. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in the admission of certain testimony and evidence. The challenged testimony and evidence was admissible as part of the investigation into the allegations, the hearsay exceptions under Evid.R. 806 and 807, and lay witness testimony under Evid.R. 701. The State presented sufficient evidence to sustain the child endangerment charges. The manifest weight of the evidence supported the child endangerment convictions. The evidence was insufficient, however, to sustain the retaliation charges because the alleged conduct occurred prior to the defendant being indicted. The trial court was not obligated to order a presentence-investigation report because it did not impose community-control sanctions. The trial court made the required statutory findings for the imposition of consecutive sentences and the record supports the court's findings.