In a recent case coming out of the Circuit Court of Fairfax County, the defendant appealed his conviction of sodomy of a child under the age of thirteen years. Originally, the defendant was charged and convicted after he sexually assaulted a family friend, who at the time was an 11-year-old girl. On appeal, the defendant took issue with the victim’s lack of credibility; however, the court of appeals rejected the defendant’s arguments and eventually denied his appeal.
Facts of the Case
According to the opinion, the defendant was visiting his family friends one evening, one of whom was eleven years old. At one point during the evening, the girl’s mom went upstairs, and when she came back downstairs, she found the defendant sexually assaulting her daughter. Terrified, the mother screamed and brought her daughter upstairs. She did not, however, report the incident to the police.
Approximately one year later, the victim told one of her teachers that she had been raped the summer before by an older family friend. She had not seen the man since her mother kicked him out of the house that evening. The teacher reported the girl’s statement to the authorities. At that point, police officers investigated the crime, found the defendant, and arrested him for sodomy. The case then proceeded to trial.