Robert Leslie Morrow was tried by a Cherokee County jury and convicted of one count of sexual assault in violation of OCGA § 16-6-5.1 b 1.1 He now appeals from the denial of his motion for a new trial, asserting that because he was employed as a paraprofessional, and not a teacher, the statute did not apply to him and the trial court therefore erred in denying his motion to quash the indictment; that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction because it failed to show either that he was a teacher or that he had supervisory or disciplinary authority over the alleged victim; and that the trial court erred in admitting similar transaction evidence as to his relationship with the alleged victim. Morrow also challenges that portion of his probated sentence which imposed a waiver of his Fourth Amendment rights. Finding that the State failed to prove that Morrow had supervisory or disciplinary authority over the victim, we agree that the statute did not apply to him and we therefore reverse his conviction.
On appeal from a criminal conviction, the defendant is no longer entitled to a presumption of innocence and we therefore construe the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury’s guilty verdict. Martinez v. State, 306 Ga. App. 512, 514 702 SE2d 747 2010. So viewed, the record shows that in December 2010, Morrow, who was then 27 years old, was employed as a paraprofessional at River Ridge High School, where he also served as a wrestling coach.2 Morrow was hired as a paraprofessional to attend to the needs of a specific, special-needs child, referred to by the parties as Pablo. Morrow accompanied Pablo to all of his classes, and during the victim’s freshman and sophomore years, she shared both home room and a math class with Pablo. The victim understood that Morrow’s job was different from that of a paraprofessional whose job it was to assist a classroom teacher. Specifically, the victim testified that a different paraprofessional assisted her math teacher during her sophomore year, and she characterized that paraprofessional as a disciplinary figure. He would monitor the classroom when the teacher left the room. By contrast, the victim knew that Morrow’s sole job was to sit with Pablo, whom the victim described as having mental issues, and ensure that Pablo did not disrupt the class. Morrow never disciplined or otherwise exercised any authority over the victim. When asked if she believed that Morrow had the authority to discipline her, the victim responded that she did not know.
