David Ryan was indicted on charges of rape and child molestation. A jury found him guilty of child molestation and acquitted him of rape but found him guilty of the lesser included offense of sexual battery. On motion for new trial, the trial court merged the sexual battery count into the child molestation count for sentencing purposes. The remainder of Ryan’s motion for new trial, as amended, was denied. He appeals, raising three enumerations of error. He contends that his right to due process of law was violated when bad character evidence was admitted and also when harmful evidence was admitted without showing a chain of custody. He also alleges that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance. We find no merit in Ryan’s contentions, and we affirm. Construed to support the jury’s verdict, the evidence presented at trial showed that the incident giving rise to the charges took place at a hospital, where the 15-year-old victim had been taken by her guardian to seek treatment for pain and excessive menstrual bleeding. Her two sisters were also present. Ryan, whom the victim had never met but recognized from her neighborhood, stopped into the room briefly with his girlfriend and then left. After about 20 minutes, the victim’s guardian left as well, taking the victim’s sisters home for dinner.
The victim was sleeping when Ryan entered the room again. After playing with some of the room’s medical equipment, he asked the victim “do you want to do it” When the victim responded that she did not, Ryan told her that she would not “feel the difference anyway” because she was “drunk.” Ryan then moved to the bed and got on top of the victim. The victim tried to push him away, but she was so weak and sick that she could not do so, and she was “too scared” to cry out. Ryan then unzipped his pants and raped her. A doctor testified that he had knocked on the door and was about to enter the room when he heard a “thump” that sounded like someone jumping. When he entered the room, Ryan looked startled. The doctor observed blood on Ryan’s long shirt and asked if they were having sex, to which Ryan responded: “I’m just laying on top of my girl.” Ryan then kissed the victim and left. When Ryan left, the victim began to cry and told the doctor she had been raped. The doctor notified security, and officers arrested Ryan on the ground floor of the hospital.
