State v. Sanchez-Garza

Citations

• 2017 Ohio 1234

Syllabus

Defendant appeals conviction for sexual imposition. Defendant's conviction was supported by sufficient evidence and was not against the manifest weight of the evidence where victim claimed defendant rubbed her buttocks and \dry humped\ her or rubbed against her with his erect penis while clothed, and victim told her friend of the incident minutes after it occurred. Friend's testimony describing victim's statements immediately after incident were admissible as excited utterances and as nonhearsay. Prosecutor committed misconduct by bolstering victim's credibility with lay witness opinions and by eliciting evidence that defendant exercised Fifth Amendment right to remain silent as substantive proof of guilt. However, misconduct was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to object where failure to object could be trial strategy or would not have affected outcome.