We granted a petition for writ of certiorari to the Court of Appeals to consider whether the Court of Appeals erred in Division 3 of Payne v. State , 290 Ga. App. 589 660 SE2d 405 2008, by affirming the trial court’s admission of similar transaction evidence in this case. Because the Court of Appeals correctly decided that evidence of Payne’s prior rape of an adult woman was sufficiently similar to the current child molestation charges to show bent of mind and course of conduct, we affirm. William Christopher Payne was convicted on two counts of aggravated child molestation, three counts of child molestation and one count of child cruelty. The evidence at trial established that on October 25, 2000, Payne’s stepdaughter, who was 11 years old at the time, approached a DARE officer at her elementary school and reported that Payne was sexually abusing her. Later, in a taped interview with Douglas County Sheriff’s Office deputies, the stepdaughter reported that on multiple occasions over a period of approximately three years, Payne entered her bedroom at night and performed a number of sexual acts on her including fondling, oral sodomy and sexual intercourse. Payne’s stepdaughter reported that, to accomplish these crimes, Payne held her down and threatened her with physical harm. She added that she was afraid that her stepfather would kill her.1
Prior to trial, the State sought to offer evidence of a 1994 crime in Alabama, in which Payne admits that he forcibly entered the home of an adult woman with whom he had been living previously and, at knife point, physically restrained her, threatened to kill her and forced her to engage in oral sodomy and sexual intercourse. After a hearing pursuant to Williams v. State , 261 Ga. 640 409 SE2d 649 1991, the trial court admitted this evidence for the purpose of establishing bent of mind and course of conduct. At trial, the jury heard testimony related to the Alabama crime from the victim and the arresting officer. A certified copy of the record of conviction and certain photographs were admitted into evidence. The jury returned a guilty verdict on all counts and Payne appealed, asserting inter alia, the trial court erred in admitting evidence of the Alabama crime. The Court of Appeals affirmed, finding the Alabama crime and the current crimes sufficiently similar so as to constitute similar transaction evidence. We granted certiorari and posed this question: Did the Court of Appeals err in holding that it was not error to admit the similar transaction evidence
