Obeginski v. State

• Decision Date: 13 January 2012
• Docket Number: No. A11A1704.,A11A1704.
• Parties: OBEGINSKI v. The STATE.
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

12 FCDR 229
313 Ga.App. 567
722 S.E.2d 162

OBEGINSKI
v.
The STATE.

No. A11A1704.

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

Jan. 13, 2012.

[722 S.E.2d 163]

Amanda Renee Flora, for appellant.

Layla Hinton Zon, Dist. Atty., Melanie McCrorey Bell, Asst. Dist. Atty., for appellee.

DILLARD, Judge.

[313 Ga.App. 567] Following a jury trial, Aaron Leigh Obeginski was convicted on one count of aggravated child molestation and two counts of child molestation. Thereafter, he filed a motion for new trial, which the trial court denied. Obeginski argues on appeal that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions and that his attorney rendered ineffective assistance of counsel. For the reasons noted infra, we affirm.

Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury's verdict,¹ the evidence shows that on the morning in question, Obeginski was exercising his visitation rights with the victim, his seven–year–old daughter. After playing at the park, during which time Obeginski was drinking alcohol from the trunk of his vehicle, Obeginski drove the victim to his residence. The victim reported being scared during the drive due to Obeginski's behavior, stating specifically that he was speeding and saying “woo hoo!”

As Obeginski sped into the driveway, the noise caught the attention of the home's owner, Darlene Harrington, and her boyfriend, Jack Dunevent.² Both immediately noticed that Obeginski appeared heavily intoxicated and unsteady on his feet as he exited the vehicle. They then noticed that the victim was in the car as well.

Alarmed at Obeginski's drunken state, Dunevent “got onto him” for driving while intoxicated with a young child in the car and

[722 S.E.2d 164]

directed Harrington to locate the victim's mother and inform her that Obeginski was in no condition to care for the child. Dunevent also disabled Obeginski's car so that he could not leave the residence. [313 Ga.App. 568] A third resident of the house also testified as to Obeginski's apparent drunkenness.

Harrington located the victim's mother, whom Harrington did not know, through a mutual friend and informed her of the troubling circumstances. The victim's mother arrived at the residence a short time later and Harrington led her to Obeginski's room. And upon opening the door to the bedroom, they observed Obeginski asleep and the victim lying next to him in the bed, crying. The victim immediately reached for her mother, who lifted her from the bed. She was naked from the waste down and told her mother through tears that Obeginski had “licked [her] bottom” and had “kissed [her] like a girl,” “with tongue.” The victim repeated the statements to Harrington, and the police were called.

Upon their arrival, the responding officers observed the crying victim and noted that she had nothing more than an afghan covering the bottom half of her body. As they entered Obeginski's bedroom, they saw the victim's panties lying next to the bed and Obeginski fast asleep. The officers then pulled the blankets off of Obeginski as they attempted to wake him and noticed that he was naked. At this point, the officers testified that Obeginski became aggressive toward them as he awoke and noted that he smelled of alcohol and slurred his speech.

An investigator subsequently came to the residence and, pursuant to a search warrant, searched Obeginski's bedroom and vehicle. He located and photographed the victim's panties on the floor next to the bed, her pants in a different area of the bedroom, and a bottle of vodka in the closet. The investigator also located three bottles of vodka in the trunk of Obeginski's vehicle. The investigator reported that when he arrived at the house, Obeginski's speech was so slurred that he could not understand him.

The victim was subjected to a forensic interview that was videotaped and played for the jury. In it, she repeated the same allegations she made to her mother and Harrington. The victim also discussed how Obeginski was drinking alcohol at the park and that she was scared by the manner in which he drove them to his home. The victim also clarified that she was referring to her vagina when she stated that Obeginski “licked [her] bottom”; explained that Obeginski stuck his tongue in her mouth and licked her face when he kissed her; and elaborated that during the ordeal, Obeginski directed her to place her hand on his penis and “move it up.”

Thereafter, Obeginski was convicted on one count of...