Atkins v. The State

The trial court applied the wrong standard when reviewing appellant's motion for new trial based on general grounds, and the Court thus vacated the denial of her motion for a new trial following her convictions for aggravated child molestation and child molestation.

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

Bethel, Judge.Monica Atkins was convicted on charges of aggravated child molestation and child molestation. She appeals from the denial of her motion for a new trial arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support her convictions and that the trial court applied the wrong standard of review to her motion. While we find the that evidence in this case was sufficient to support Atkins’ convictions, we otherwise agree with Atkins that the trial court failed to apply the correct standard of review in considering her motion for a new trial. We therefore vacate the trial court’s denial of Atkins’ motion and remand the case to the trial court for proper consideration of that motion.

In resolving [Atkins'] challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we view the evidence in a light favorable to the jury’s verdict. Weighing the evidence and determining witness credibility are beyond the purview of this court. We simply assess whether the evidence was sufficient to find [Atkins] guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Smith v. State, 320 Ga. App. 408, 409 (1) (740 SE2d 174) (2013) (citation and punctuation omitted).The evidence^{^[1]} shows that after learning she was pregnant, A. O., who was thirteen years old at the time, called Atkins and told her she was pregnant by Atkins’ husband. Atkins’ husband denied both paternity and sexual contact with A. O. A. O.’s mother reported the incident to police.During her initial interview with law enforcement, A. O. claimed that in August 2010 while sleeping on the floor of Atkins’ apartment, she awoke to find Atkins’ husband on top of her having sex with her. Nine days later during her forensic interview, A. O. alleged for the first time that a prior incident occurred in June or July of 2010 in which she engaged in sexual acts with Atkins and her husband at their previous residence. Atkins was indicted on charges of aggravated child molestation and child molestation.^{^[2]}

Atkins v. The State

The trial court applied the wrong standard when reviewing appellant's motion for new trial based on general grounds, and the Court thus vacated the denial of her motion for a new trial following her convictions for aggravated child molestation and child molestation.

Share with Email

Thank you for sharing!

Trending Stories

More From ALM

Subscribe to Daily Report