State v. Smith

Citations

• 2024 Ohio 497

Syllabus

Defendant's conviction for sexual imposition was supported by the manifest weight of the evidence where testimony and video footage showed defendant repeatedly touched the victim on or about her breast as she backed away from defendant and until she used her own hand to remove defendant's hand, where defendant then used his backside to nudge the victim toward the wall, where the two were mere acquaintances, and where defendant exclaimed he owed the victim an apology after being confronted with security camera footage. Additionally, no prosecutorial misconduct occurred where the prosecutor's characterization of defendant's conduct was consistent with the victim's testimony or where the prosecutor's closing arguments, in their entirety, consistently asked the jury to also consider the surrounding circumstances of the case when determining defendant's guilt.