Opinion ID: 2627614
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: J.V.N. Incident

Text: Prior to this incident, J.V.N., and her family were very close to the Carmichaels. Carmichael and J.V.N.'s father are first cousins, and J.V.N. spent a great deal of time at the Carmichael family home. On June 6, 2000, J.V.N., who was thirteen years old at the time, returned from a multiday camping trip with the Carmichael family. Rather than returning to her own home, J.V.N. decided to spend the night at the Carmichael home. J.V.N. testified that she was playing with Sheree and a few other friends in the Carmichael basement. Over the course of the evening, she accepted four or five shots of alcohol from Carmichael. Carmichael also offered shots to Sheree and his son, Chad. Offering small amounts of alcohol to the children was an accepted practice in both the V.N. and Carmichael families. Later that evening, J.V.N. came back upstairs and lay down on the couch to go to sleep. Carmichael was lying on a loveseat nearby. J.V.N. stated that, as she pretended to be asleep, Carmichael moved over to the couch, touched her hand several times, lifted her shirt, and touched her stomach. When J.V.N. pretended to wake up, Carmichael moved back to the loveseat. Carmichael, in contrast, testified that he placed a blanket on J.V.N. and removed her shoes when she fell asleep. Soon thereafter, J.V.N. returned to the basement, woke Sheree and told Sheree what happened. J.V.N.'s dad came to pick her up and J.V.N. reported the incident to police the next day. Carmichael maintained that he never touched J.V.N., other than possibly brushing her hand or stomach while placing a blanket over her.