Nelson v. State
| Decision Date | 05 July 1988 |
| Docket Number | No. 02S00-8707-CR-679,02S00-8707-CR-679 |
| Citation | 525 N.E.2d 296 |
| Parties | John Thomas NELSON, Appellant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee. |
| Court | Indiana Supreme Court |
Donald C. Swanson, Jr., Fort Wayne, for appellant.
Linley E. Pearson, Atty. Gen., Mary Dreyer, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.
A jury trial resulted in the conviction of appellant of fondling and touching an 8-year-old child with intent to arouse or satisfy sexual desires, for which he received a five (5) year sentence, and of performing an act of deviate sexual conduct on the same child by forcing her to commit fellatio, for which he received twenty (20) years, the sentences to be served consecutively.
The facts are: The 8-year-old victim testified that appellant had molested her on several occasions. At one time, appellant was the live-in boyfriend of the victim's mother. With the aid of anatomically correct dolls, the victim related to the jury what appellant had done to her. She testified he threatened to beat her if she told anyone. On one occasion he took a pistol from a drawer and threatened to shoot her if she told anyone of the sexual activity.
The victim testified that appellant had engaged in sexual intercourse with her; an examining physician, however, testified that he could find nothing unusual in her vaginal area and there was no indication that she had ever had sexual intercourse. Although appellant was charged with having sexual intercourse, the jury found him not guilty of that charge.
Appellant claims there is insufficient evidence to establish that he performed an act of fondling or touching upon the victim. He maintains that the victim's testimony is not credible and should not have been believed because she had testified in detail as to sexual intercourse on more than one occasion with appellant, whereas medical examination indicated that no such attack had occurred. He therefore reasons that the witness should not be believed as to her testimony concerning the acts for which appellant was convicted.
A trier of fact may believe one part of the testimony of a witness and disbelieve and reject another part. Thomas v. State (1983), Ind., 451 N.E.2d 651. This Court has repeatedly stated that if there is substantial evidence of probative value from which a trier of fact might reasonably infer guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the conviction must stand. Coleman v. State (1986), Ind., 490 N.E.2d 711.
In a case of this nature, a conviction may stand solely on the uncorroborated testimony of a minor witness. Pearson v. State (1985), Ind., 486 N.E.2d 540. We have stated that when a conviction is based solely on the testimony of an inherently unbelievable witness or where such testimony is replete with ...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Cavens v. Zaberdac
...However, "[a] trier of fact may believe one part of the testimony of a witness and disbelieve and reject another part." Nelson v. State, 525 N.E.2d 296, 297 (Ind.1988). Here, the evidence presented at trial at least allowed for the possibility that the jury could have believed portions of Z......
-
G.W.L. v. Ind. Dep't of Child Servs. (In re G.W.L.)
...as Father. See Thompson v. State, 804 N.E.2d 1146, 1149 (Ind.2004) ; Marshall v. State, 621 N.E.2d 308, 320 (Ind.1993) ; Nelson v. State, 525 N.E.2d 296, 297 (Ind.1988) ; A .S.C. Corp. v. First Nat'l Bank of Elwood, 241 Ind. 19, 25, 167 N.E .2d 460, 463 (1960) ; Haynes v. Brown, 120 Ind.App......
-
Foulks v. State, No. 71S00-9007-CR-465
...Ind., 459 N.E.2d 719. The trier of fact is free to believe one part of a witness' testimony and disbelieve another part. Nelson v. State (1988), Ind., 525 N.E.2d 296. There is ample evidence in this record to support the verdict of the The trial court is affirmed. SHEPARD, C.J., and KRAHULI......
-
R.P. v. Indiana Dep't of Child Servs. (In re Ja.B.)
...as Mother. See Thompson v. State, 804 N.E.2d 1146, 1149 (Ind. 2004); Marshall v. State, 621 N.E.2d 308, 320 (Ind. 1993); Nelson v. State, 525 N.E.2d 296, 297 (Ind. 1988); A.S.C. Corp. v. First Nat'l Bank of Elwood, 241 Ind. 19, 25, 167 N.E.2d 460, 463 (1960); Haynes v. Brown, 120 Ind. App. ......