A Fulton County jury found James Powell guilty of rape, OCGA § 16-6-1, and sexual battery, OCGA § 16-6-22.1. He appeals from the denial of his motion for new trial, raising the general grounds and claiming he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Finding no error, we affirm. Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict,1 the evidence shows the following. During the evening of March 8, 1996, Willie Carson visited the victim, an elderly woman who lived in his neighborhood. Because the victim had trouble walking, Carson checked on her regularly to see that she had food for herself and her pet poodle. On March 8, as Carson was bringing the victim some groceries, another man stepped inside the victim’s home and remained near the doorway. Carson had seen the man in the neighborhood before. He did not think the man’s presence was unusual because the victim was popular in the community and had many guests. The victim, who was known to be a little forgetful, asked the man who he was. He responded: “You know me,” and “Don’t you remember Sheila” Carson gave the victim $10 and then left. At trial, Carson positively identified James Powell as the man who came to the victim’s home while he was there.
The victim testified she tried to signal Carson to stay. In fact, she attempted to run outside after Carson left and to shout for help, but Powell grabbed her and dragged her back inside her home. He threw her pet poodle into the kitchen, knocking the animal unconscious. He forced the victim onto her bed, threatened to choke her with her dog’s leash, made her undress, and then had vaginal intercourse with her against her will. Later, Powell forced the victim off the bed and onto her knees and, according to the victim, had anal intercourse with her. After sexually abusing the victim, he took the $10 Carson had given her and left. The victim immediately ran for help, making an outcry of rape to a friend of hers who in turn called the police. The victim told her friend that her attacker was a man from the neighborhood who used to “go with” Sheila. Based on the victim’s description, the friend told the victim that the man’s name was James Powell. The friend led the police to Powell, who was arrested outside a nearby store the following day.
