Opinion ID: 2200435
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: whether sufficient evidence existed to support the jury's verdict on all four counts.

Text: Bachman first claims that there was insufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict and that his motion for acquittal should have been granted. He bases his claim upon the fact that the victims' stories were incredible. He focuses on A.E.'s inconsistent testimony that she was raped forty to forty-five times in the course of forty to forty-five days (she had earlier stated that the number of encounters was far less), that up to eight men were involved in her molestations (no other men were identified or apprehended), and the fact that the girls' physical examinations showed no clear signs of sexual abuse. Our review requires that we accept the evidence and the inferences that the jury may have drawn therefrom in support of the verdict. The jury's verdict will not be set aside if the evidence and the reasonable inferences drawn therefrom sustain a rational theory of guilt. See State v. McCafferty, 356 N.W.2d 159 (S.D.1984). See also State v. Ree, 331 N.W.2d 557 (S.D.1983); State v. Grey Owl, 316 N.W.2d 801 (S.D.1982); State v. Herrald, 269 N.W.2d 776 (S.D.1978); State v. Boyles, 260 N.W.2d 642 (S.D.1977). The trial court's denial of his motion for acquittal will not be disturbed if the State made out a prima facie case from which the jury could reasonably find the defendant guilty. State v. Dirk, 364 N.W.2d 117 (S.D.1985) Bachman asserts that the inconsistent testimony concerning the number of attacks, State's inability to locate the other claimed perpetrators of the molestations, and the victims' failure to report the alleged molestations for over a year constitute a sufficient basis to conclude that the evidence and the reasonable inferences drawn therefrom are insufficient to sustain a rational theory of guilt. We disagree. Both A.E. and J.E. testified at great length concerning Bachman's activities with them. We first note that young children generally are unlikely to fabricate a graphic account of sexual activity because such an activity is beyond the realm of their experience. See McCafferty, supra . Moreover, the pediatrician who examined both of the girls testified to the existence of evidence of their having been molested. Further, two psychologists who testified concerning the mental condition of A.E. and J.E. noted that while the girls recounted their stories independently, they were remarkably similar. One psychologist also noted that it was not unusual for a child who is a victim of molestation to wait for one or two years before reporting such abuse. Finally, one psychologist noted that it is not uncommon for a child to give varying details (i.e., the number of attacks or attackers) when re-relating incidents of sexual abuse. Our review of the evidence leads us to the conclusion that sufficient evidence was presented to uphold the jury's verdict. McCafferty, supra . We further conclude that State presented a prima facie case that Bachman committed the acts and that the trial court did not err in denying his motion for acquittal. Dirk, supra .