This child molestation case involves one defendant, Ozell Walker, and three female victims, K. T., J. W., and C. E. Counts one through six of the indictment against Walker charged that he committed crimes against K. T., which included rape Count 1, aggravated sexual battery Count 2, aggravated child molestation Count 3, and child molestation Counts 4, 5, and 6. Walker was convicted on Counts 3, 4, and 6, and on the lesser included charges of child molestation on Count 1, and sexual battery on Counts 2 and 5. Count 7 aggravated child molestation and Count 8 child molestation alleged crimes against J. W. Walker was acquitted of Count 7 and convicted of Count 8. Count 9 of the indictment charged Walker with child molestation in connection with the third victim, C. E. Walker was convicted on Count 9, and was sentenced to a total of 110 years to serve. On appeal, Walker argues that he received ineffective assistance of counsel and that the trial court erred when it denied his five motions for mistrial. We reverse Walker’s conviction on Count 8 on the grounds that he received ineffective assistance of counsel but affirm the remaining convictions. On appeal from a criminal conviction, the defendant no longer enjoys the presumption of innocence. This Court does not weigh the evidence or determine witness credibility, but only determines whether the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, is sufficient under Jackson v. Virginia. 1 We uphold the verdict if any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.2 So viewed, the record shows that between 1999 and 2004, Walker sexually abused his stepdaughter, K. T., her cousin, J. W., and K. T.’s best friend, C. E. K. T., who was 16 years old at the time of trial, testified that Walker began to sexually abuse her when she was 7 years old. K. T. testified that the abuse, which occurred at night while her mother was working, began with Walker rubbing on her thighs, rear end, and chest; that Walker put his fingers in her vagina; that he inserted a pencil in her vagina on one occasion; and that they watched pornographic videos showing adults engaged in oral sex. K. T. recalled that by the time she was nine years old, Walker made her engage in oral sex while the pornographic movies played and that they engaged in intercourse once when she was ten years old, which caused vaginal bleeding. After that incident, the oral sex continued until she was 14 years old. K. T. never told her mother about the abuse but told her cousin, J. W. J. W., who was 15 years old at the time of trial, is Walker’s niece. J. W. testified that when she was 12 years old, she was on the phone with a boy at K. T.’s house, and Walker told her that she should not be talking to boys and that she should lose her virginity to him; that when she was 13 years old, Walker told her he wanted her to touch his penis and put his hands under her clothes and inserted his finger into her vagina as he tried to talk her into having intercourse; that he put his mouth on her vagina and tried to force her to touch his penis with her mouth and her hand; and that he forced her to bend over on the couch and inserted his penis into her rear end. J. W. recalled that the assault stopped when Walker heard K. T. get out of the shower. J. W. testified that she told K. T. what happened immediately and told her mother and her aunts about the assault approximately a month later.
C. E., who was 16 years old at the time of trial, was K. T.’s close friend. C. E. testified that one night when she slept at K. T.’s house, she was awakened by Walker putting his hand inside her shirt and trying to unzip her shorts. According to C. E., she told K. T. what happened, and K. T. started to cry and apologized for Walker’s conduct. On the next morning, Walker tried to kiss C. E. and held her down on the couch as she tried to get up. C. E. also recalled that Walker made comments about sex to her. C. E. did not return to K. T.’s house after the incident.
