Georgia Appeals Court Upholds Incest Conviction

There are a number of sex-based offenses that can land you in serious legal trouble in Georgia. One of them is incest. Georgia law defines incest as engaging in sexual intercourse “with a person whom he or she knows he or she is related to be blood, by adoption, or by marriage.” Under this definition, a parent commits incest if they have sexual intercourse with a biological, adopted, or step-child.
Father-Child Relationship Does Not Require Admission of Paternity
While the state must prove the existence of a parent-child relationship in a criminal incest case, this can be done through circumstantial evidence. In other words, even if the defendant is not listed as the child’s parent on a birth certificate, or paternity has not previously been established in any legal sense, that does not necessarily mean the state cannot prove the defendant knew the victim was their child.
This subject came up in a recent Georgia Court of Appeals decision, Peterman v. State. Prosecutors alleged the defendant raped and molested a 15-year-old girl. Furthermore, the state argued the 15-year-old was the defendant’s biological daughter, thus justifying a separate charge of incest.
A jury convicted the defendant on multiple charges. The trial court imposed a sentence of life in prison plus 44 years. On appeal, the defendant challenged the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his incest conviction. Specifically, the defendant said the state failed to prove the victim was his biological daughter at trial.
The Court of Appeals rejected this claim and affirmed the defendant’s conviction. At trial, four witnesses–including the victim–testified that the defendant was the biological father. The child’s mother further testified that the defendant refused to sign the child’s birth certificate acknowledging his paternity. The appellate court said this testimony formed a sufficient basis for the jury to conclude the defendant was the child’s biological father, even though the defendant himself never admitted as much.
Additionally, the Court of Appeals said the trial court did not err in refusing to merge the defendant’s rape and incest convictions into a single conviction. As the appellate court explained, the Fifth Amendment’s prohibition against double jeopardy and Georgia law requires merger when “one crime is included in another,” i.e., both crimes arise from the same act and have the same elements. Here, incest and rape are wholly different crimes. Incest does not require proof of rape–the sexual intercourse can be consensual. Conversely, rape does not require proof of incest, as a rape victim need not be related to their attacker.
Contact The Spizman Firm Trial Lawyers Today
Sex crimes involving minors carry some of the harshest penalties under Georgia law. So if you face such allegations or charges yourself, you must be prepared to defend yourself in court. Our Atlanta sex crimes defense lawyers can help. Call The Spizman Firm Trial Lawyers today. We serve clients throughout Georgia including Atlanta, Dunwoody, Alpharetta, Cobb County, Fulton County, Gwinnett County, Johns Creek and Sandy Springs.
Source:
efast.gaappeals.us/download?filingId=0d5a3480-fb98-4340-a240-b7535bbdaee9