Opinion ID: 1175474
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: sufficiency of evidence rape of tt

Text: Appellant contends in his brief that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction of the rape of TT because she did not see the insertion of the penis,    know that a penis had been inserted,   did not see the alleged assault, [but] she is relying entirely upon a seven-year-old memory of a sensation which she then compares to a sensation experienced in marriage to arrive at a conclusion  . A rape conviction may be upheld upon the testimony of the victim alone. Brown v. State, Wyo., 581 P.2d 189, 191 (1978). In considering upon appeal the question of the sufficiency of evidence to support a jury verdict of guilty, we review the evidence, both direct and circumstantial, in a light most favorable to the State ascribing to that evidence all reasonable inferences that may fairly be drawn therefrom. Smith v. State, Wyo., 564 P.2d 1194, 1198 (1977). An inference is a process of reasoning by which a fact or proposition is deduced fairly and logically from other facts proven or admitted. An inference is truly evidence. The weight to which it is entitled depends upon the facts and circumstances of each particular case, and that is ordinarily for the jury. Kobielusz v. Wilson, Wyo., 701 P.2d 559 (1985). When considering sufficiency of evidence, we will not interfere with the jury's findings of fact and its resultant verdict if they are supported by any substantial evidence. Smith v. State, supra. TT was a 15-year-old high school sophomore who, on April 17, 1968, visited Dr. Story because of abdominal pains with the onset of her menstrual cycle. She arrived after school, around 3:00 p.m., waited about an hour, then was taken to the examining room. She removed all her clothes and was sitting on the examining table when Dr. Story entered the room. At his instructions she lay down on the table, had her feet in the stirrups, and was draped tight across her knees for the examination. He began the examination by palpating her abdomen and inserting an instrument into her vagina so that he could see inside. She was then aware that he was examining her with a hand covered with a plastic glove which was followed by something she described as different. With Dr. Story standing at the end of the table, she felt an object that she described as very, very warm and soft and it was bare flesh    pushing inside of me. TT said it was very painful, and she began crying. Dr. Story then removed the object a little bit and pushed it in farther, and it hurt and she was crying and sobbing. He then pulled it back out and pushed it in again a little farther and suddenly she felt warm fluid go down her bottom. Dr. Story then grabbed the paper underneath her, ripped it, wadded it, and threw it into the garbage. He then wiped her off. As Dr. Story left the room, TT noted that he looked different than when he had entered because his shirt was straight and his pants were higher. As he left he said, You did real good. TT, being 15 years of age, had never had a sexual experience nor had she seen a naked man. She did not know what a penis was and did not then know she had been sexually assaulted. She was aware, however, that the pelvic examination he had just performed was different than one Dr. Story had performed before. Approximately seven years later, TT was married and became aware that she had been assaulted by Dr. Story. In testifying she was asked: Q. Now then do you know what the object was that Dr. Story inserted in you that day? A. It was his penis. Dr. Story testified that a patient could tell the difference between two fingers and a penis and between a speculum and a penis. He agreed that the patient being examined was in a vulnerable position and that it was possible to sexually assault a patient in that position. However, he said the patient's cooperation would be needed and that cooperation was needed to insert the speculum. TT's testimony seems to us more than sufficient for the jury to find that Dr. Story had committed a sexual assault upon her. TT positively testified that what Dr. Story had inserted into her was his penis. Dr. Story denied that. It was the function of the jury of twelve persons to resolve that dispute, and they resolved it against Dr. Story. There was no error in the jury's findings in this regard.