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Bentley v. State

The state proved venue for the child molestation charge at issue through the victim's testimony that the molestation incident occurred near a church close to Yorkville and a police officer's testimony that he and the victim located the church in question about a week prior to trial, and that the church was within Paulding county.

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Following a jury trial, Jerry Wayne Bentley was convicted of child molestation OCGA § 16-6-4 a 1. Bentley filed a motion for new trial, which the trial court denied. Bentley appeals, contending that the State failed to prove venue, and that his trial counsel was ineffective for introducing evidence that Bentley had recently been released from prison. We discern no error and affirm. On appeal from a criminal conviction, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, and the defendant no longer enjoys a presumption of innocence. We do not weigh the evidence or resolve issues of witness credibility, but merely determine whether the evidence was sufficient to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Citations and punctuation omitted. Damerow v. State , 310 Ga. App. 530, 531 714 SE2d 82 2011. So viewed, the evidence shows that in May 2006, Bentley and his thirteen-year-old daughter, J. B., were driving in his car when Bentley rubbed the inside of J. B.’s leg and touched her genital area over her clothing. J. B. told her mother about the incident, and her mother reported the incident to the police. After interviewing J. B., police officers from the Paulding County Sheriff’s office arrested and charged Bentley with child molestation. At trial, the State presented evidence of a similar incident that occurred in 1994, in which Bentley committed the offense of statutory rape. After the presentation of evidence, the jury returned a verdict finding Bentley guilty of the child molestation offense.

1. Bentley contends that the State failed to prove venue in Paulding County. We disagree.

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