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Abdulkadir v. State

The rape shield statute does not apply to child molestation cases.

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Certiorari was granted to consider the Court of Appeals’ ruling that the proscriptions set forth in Georgia’s rape shield statute are applicable in prosecutions for child molestation.1 Because the language of the rape shield statute limits its application to prosecutions for rape, we conclude the Court of Appeals erred in its determination. In this particular case, however, the trial court properly applied the rape shield statute because, in addition to being prosecuted for child molestation, appellant was being prosecuted for rape. Therefore, while we disapprove of the ruling allowing application of the rape shield statute in prosecutions for crimes other that rape, we affirm appellant’s conviction. Appellant Yasin Abdulkadir was indicted for rape, incest, child molestation, and aggravated child molestation. The victim was appellant’s thirteen-year-old step daughter. At trial, appellant argued that the charges against him had been fabricated. In support of this claim, appellant sought to introduce evidence showing that when he informed the victim’s mother that her daughter had been spending time with a boy, the mother went to the boy’s apartment and discovered the victim and the boy engaging in sex. According to appellant, when the victim learned that he had told her mother about her trysts with the boy, she fabricated the charges against him in retaliation.

The trial court permitted appellant to present evidence showing: 1 that the victim was angry with appellant due to a disciplinary matter, and 2 that the victim refused a medical examination when her mother took her to a hospital to determine whether she was sexually active. The trial court, however, refused to allow appellant to present evidence regarding the victim’s sexual history with the boy, holding that any evidence concerning the victim’s past sexual conduct was barred by the rape shield statute.2

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