A Newton County jury convicted Terry Lee Goolsby of rape, aggravated sodomy, kidnapping, burglary, and misdemeanor sexual battery. On appeal from the denial of his amended motion for new trial, Goolsby contends that there was insufficient evidence to convict him.1 We disagree and affirm. Following a criminal conviction, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, and the defendant is no longer presumed innocent. We do not weigh the evidence or determine witness credibility, but only determine if the evidence was sufficient for a rational trier of fact to find the defendant guilty of the charged offenses beyond a reasonable doubt. Citations and punctuation omitted. Neugent v. State , 294 Ga. App. 284, 285 1 668 SE2d 888 2008. See Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U.S. 307 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979. The Newton County Case. Viewed in favor of the verdict, the evidence adduced at trial showed that the female victim lived alone in an apartment located in Newton County. In the early morning hours of February 28, 2002, the victim awoke to a “loud knocking, clanging noise.” The victim went to the living room area to check on the noise and noticed that the door to the closet containing the water heater was slightly ajar. At that point, a young black male in a hooded sweatshirt jumped out of the closet and began struggling with the victim. During the struggle, the hood of the man’s sweatshirt came off, and the victim was able to see his face. The man told the victim that he had a knife and warned her to stop struggling or he would cut her, and she complied. Holding her in a “bear hug,” the man forced the victim back to her bedroom and put her on the bed in a face-down position. After blindfolding her and while restraining her, the man performed oral sex on the victim, fondled her left breast, and had intercourse with her.
Following the sexual assault, the man led the blindfolded victim out of the bedroom to the front door of the apartment and made her unlock the front door. He then forced the victim into the bathroom, had her kneel down at the toilet, and told her to count to 20 before getting up. The victim later testified that while standing in the bathroom, the man’s demeanor suddenly changed, he began acting “somewhat polite,” and he apologized to her before fleeing from the apartment.
