A Columbia County jury found Jerry Lee guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of aggravated sexual battery, OCGA § 16-6-22.2 b, of his nine-year-old daughter. Following the denial of his motion for a new trial, Lee appeals, contending that the evidence was insufficient and that the trial court erred in accepting an inconsistent verdict and in denying his motion for a new trial based on the ineffective assistance of counsel. For the reasons explained below, we affirm. Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict,1 the evidence shows the following. The victim testified that, while her mother was away from the house getting food for dinner on May 11, 2005, Lee called the victim into his and his wife’s bedroom and asked her to comb his hair. Lee starting talking to the victim about keeping herself clean, locked the bedroom door, and then told the victim to pull down her pants and underwear. As the victim lay on a couch with her legs apart, Lee began touching and rubbing the victim’s genitals while he continued talking about keeping clean. Lee took the victim into the bathroom, had her stand with her legs apart, had the victim put personal lubricant on her genitals, and then inserted his lubricated finger into the victim’s vagina. Lee did not wear examination gloves. The victim told Lee that it hurt. The next day, the victim told her mother Lee’s wife what happened.
Lee’s wife testified that, after their children went to bed that evening, Lee told her that the victim had told him that some of her friends had been touched sexually and that he was concerned that the victim had also been touched. Lee told his wife that he used a medical book with illustrations of the reproductive system to explain to the victim about keeping herself clean and also talked to her about not letting anyone touch her private parts. Lee’s wife became suspicious, because Lee chose to have such a conversation with the victim during the brief interval she was away from the house, rather than involving her, as the little girl’s mother, and because he kept returning to the topic. Afterward, Lee’s wife asked the victim about the conversation, and the victim told her about what happened, including the digital penetration.
