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Fuller v. State

The trial court abused its discretion in denying the defendant's mistrial motion based on a juror's misconduct in approaching the victim during a lunch break and saying, keep your head up, . . . I'm so proud of you.

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On appeal from his conviction for aggravated child molestation and child molestation, Charles Fuller argues that the trial court abused its discretion when it denied his motion for mistrial concerning a juror’s approach to and conversation with the victim during a lunch break. We agree and order a new trial. “On appeal from a criminal conviction, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, with the defendant no longer enjoying a presumption of innocence.” Reese v. State , 270 Ga. App. 522, 523 607 SE2d 165 2004. We neither weigh the evidence nor judge the credibility of witnesses, but determine only whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, a “rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U. S. 307, 319 III B 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979.

So viewed, the record shows that in May 2005, when the victim was 12 years old, her stepfather’s brother, Charles Fuller, entered the victim’s bedroom, touched her vagina, and penetrated it with his penis. Charles also put his mouth on the victim’s privates. The victim’s stepfather, James Fuller, participated in the attack. During a previous incident, Charles had held a knife to the victim’s throat and told her that he would kill her if she told anyone about the assaults.

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