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Kidd v. State

Evidence of a third party's conviction for child molestation was not direct evidence of an alternative explanation for the victim's claim of abuse against the defendant.

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A Dawson County jury found Homer Lee Kidd guilty of child molestation for acts he committed against his six-year-old granddaughter. He appeals, claiming that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict; that the trial court erred by refusing to admit into evidence a certified copy of conviction of a third party in order to show another person may have committed the indicted act; and that Kidd received ineffective assistance of counsel. These claims of error are meritless, and we affirm.

1. The evidence, viewed in a light to uphold the verdict, was sufficient to support the jury’s verdict under the standard of Jackson v. Virginia.1 Kidd was indicted for the act of touching the victim’s vagina. In that regard, the victim testified at trial that her grandfather touched her “down in her private part” with his hand while she was undressed; while on the stand, the victim pointed to her “private part” at the request of the prosecutor. “The testimony of a single witness is generally sufficient to establish a fact.”2 In addition, a child psychologist testified as an outcry witness that the victim had told her that Kidd touched her vaginal area with his hand. “The jury determines the credibility of witnesses, so the truthfulness of those witnesses, including that of the victim, was for the jury to decide.”3 The jury did so, and the evidence supports the verdict.

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