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Cody v. State

The trial court properly admitted the defendant's police statement at his trial for sexually abusing his son's half-sister.

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A jury found Mark Waddess Cody guilty of committing against his son’s half-sister, S. H., six crimes: aggravated sodomy; two counts of aggravated child molestation; child molestation; and two counts of false imprisonment. Additionally, relating to his conduct during his arrest in connection with S. H.’s allegations, the jury found Cody guilty of obstruction of an officer and giving a false name to an officer. Convicted of these eight offenses, Cody contends that the trial court erred by admitting in evidence his police statement, by commenting on the evidence, by imposing certain sentences under an inapplicable version of a statute, by failing to merge certain offenses for sentencing purposes, and by sentencing him as a recidivist. Because Cody has shown no merit in any contention, we affirm.

The trial evidence showed the following.1 On February 6, 2008, S. H.’s mother took her to the hospital because the 7-year-old complained of a stomach ache and had a foul-smelling, brownish vaginal discharge. Results of lab testing upon vaginal swabs from S. H. showed that she had contracted chlamydia. S. H.’s treating physician, who was qualified at trial as an expert in pediatric medicine, testified that chlamydia was typically contracted by sexual contact, and could cause abdominal pain and vaginal discharge. The discharge, the physician explained, had resulted from the cervix being infected with chlamydia.

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