Case Title: The People v. Susan McDade

Citation: 

Docket Number: 

State: new-york

Court: New York Appellate Court

Date: 2010-02-23T00:00:00Z

Document:
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This memorandum is uncorrected and subject to revision before
publication in the New York Reports.
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No. 89  SSM 55
The People &c.,
            Respondent,
        v.
Susan McDade,
            Appellant.
Submitted by Andrew R. Safranko, for appellant.
Submitted by Ian H. Silverman, for respondent.
MEMORANDUM:
The order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed. 
Legally sufficient evidence supports defendant Susan McDade's
conviction of second-degree rape.  Forensic DNA testing of a
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SSM No. 55
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penile swab from the victim, a severely mentally disabled 17-
year-old boy, revealed the existence of significant amounts of
defendant's DNA, which established that defendant had extended,
non-casual contact with the victim's penis.  Eyewitness evidence
established that both the victim and defendant were naked. 
Moreover, the People elicited additional evidence that the
victim, who had the cognitive abilities of a toddler, did not
understand sex and was not known to masturbate or ejaculate. 
This evidence provided a valid line of reasoning and permissible
inferences that could lead a rational jury to conclude that the
contact between defendant and L. R. was sexual intercourse,
rather than oral sex or hand-to-penis contact, neither of which
would require defendant to be completely naked and which would
have resulted in sexual gratification to an individual who could
not have understood.  The fact that other inferences could have
been drawn by the jury does not render the evidence legally
insufficient.
*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *
On review of submissions pursuant to section 500.11 of the Rules,
order affirmed, in a memorandum.  Chief Judge Lippman and Judges
Ciparick, Graffeo, Read, Smith, Pigott and Jones concur.
Decided February 23, 2010