Opinion ID: 1726742
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: was the jury's verdict against the overwhelming weight of the evidence?

Text: The thrust of this assignment is the argument of Goss that the verdict was improper because the prosecutrix's actions after the alleged rape were not only inconsistent with the charge but make the charge highly improbable. The prosecutrix admitted that a few weeks after the incident she rode back from Attala County to her home in New Zion in the same car with Lester Goss and others. She explained that she did this because she had no other way to go home and did not know that Goss was going to be in the car with her. Two months before trial, she voluntarily stopped and gave a ride to another defendant, Robert Miller. She admitted that she had been in an automobile with Miller about three times since he allegedly raped her. Witnesses for Goss testified that the prosecutrix was seen dancing with various defendants a few weeks after the alleged rape. Jolene Goss, a cousin of Lester Goss, testified that a year prior to the rape she had seen Lester Goss and the prosecutrix make love in the back of a car while she was on a double date with defendant Terry Hunt. Jolene Goss said that the prosecutrix voluntarily sat next to Goss on the ride from Attala County back to New Zion. She also claimed that she had seen the prosecutrix dancing with both Goss and Miller on more than one occasion since the alleged rape. Gwendolyn Wraggs, a third cousin of Goss, testified that she had seen the prosecutrix dancing with Goss and Miller and hugging up to both of them at Big Boy's Cafe some weeks after the alleged incident. Sherry and Linda Goss, both cousins of Goss, also said that the prosecutrix had danced with both Goss and Miller after the alleged rape. Goss relies on McQueen v. State, 423 So.2d 800 (Miss. 1982), where this Court reversed a charge of rape on the insufficiency of the evidence. However, in McQueen, no weapon was exhibited and no force was used to remove the prosecutrix's clothes and lay her down. Because we found that the evidence fell far short of showing that the prosecutrix in McQueen had submitted because of a reasonable apprehension that she would suffer injury if she refused, we reversed McQueen's conviction and he was discharged. Id. at 803. That is not the case here. The victim's testimony alone is sufficient, although not corroborated, where it is consistent with the circumstances. Christian v. State, 456 So.2d 729, 734 (Miss. 1984); Davis v. State, 406 So.2d 795 (Miss. 1981). In this case, the testimony of the prosecutrix was corroborated and entirely consistent with the testimony offered by the other state's witnesses. We are not unmindful of the deference that we must give to a jury's determination of the credibility of witnesses and the weight and worth of their testimony. Davis v. State, 320 So.2d 789 (Miss. 1975); Hill v. State, 199 Miss. 254, 24 So.2d 737 (1946). The jury was free to accept or reject the testimony of the defendant's witnesses, indicating that the prosecutrix remained on friendly, even intimate, terms with the defendants following the rape. Woodward v. State, 180 Miss. 571, 178 So. 469 (1938). This incident occurred in a sparsely populated rural community, where recurring contact, desired or not, with the members of the community is probably inevitable. An admission by the prosecutrix that she rode home with the defendant, and gave a ride to another defendant in the weeks following the rape does not strongly evidence her consent to the sexual incident in question. These were matters for determination by the jury and the jury has spoken. This assignment of error is without merit as the evidence was ample to support the conviction of Lester Goss. AFFIRMED. PATTERSON, C.J., WALKER and ROY NOBLE LEE, P.JJ., and HAWKINS, DAN M. LEE, PRATHER, ROBERTSON and ALEXANDER, JJ., concur.