Lynn v. State

The trial court did not err in admitting evidence of the defendant's molestation of his former girlfriend's 14-year-old daughter as a similar transaction to show his lustful disposition and bent of mind toward molesting young girls.

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Following a jury trial, James Lynn was convicted on a single count each of aggravated child molestation1 and child molestation.2 He now appeals from the denial of his motion for a new trial, asserting that the trial court erred in: 1 admitting certain similar transaction evidence and 2 allowing into evidence a videotaped, forensic interview of the victim. Discerning no error, we affirm. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, Drammeh v. State ,3 the record shows that Lynn was convicted of molesting his former step-daughter by fondling and placing his mouth on her genitals on several occasions between May and September of 2006. At the time of these incidents, the stepdaughter was between ten and eleven years old.

During its case, the State presented the testimony of one of Lynn’s ex-girlfriends and her daughter regarding Lynn’s molestation of the daughter. Specifically, these witnesses testified that Lynn and the former girlfriend had dated for approximately seven to eight years and that, during that time, Lynn resided part-time at the girlfriend’s home. In January 2007, Lynn spent the night at the girlfriend’s residence, with Lynn and the girlfriend sleeping in the living room with the girlfriend’s daughter and son. The daughter, O. W., was 14 years old at the time and woke up when she felt someone lying on top of her. O. W.’s pants and underwear were pulled down, and someone she described as a “tall person with hairy legs” was lying on top of her, rubbing his private part on her thigh. O. W. assumed her assailant was Lynn, because the only other people in the residence were her mother and younger brother, whom she could see sleeping at the time of the incident.

Lynn v. State

The trial court did not err in admitting evidence of the defendant's molestation of his former girlfriend's 14-year-old daughter as a similar transaction to show his lustful disposition and bent of mind toward molesting young girls.

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