Opinion ID: 2627614
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: R.R. Incident

Text: On an unknown date in the spring or summer of 2000, R.R. and her friend A.B. spent the night at Sheree Carmichael's house, after a dance at the local recreation center. Sheree Carmichael is Michael Carmichael's daughter. A.B. testified the girls went to sleep in the Carmichael basement around 1:00 a.m., with A.B. and R.R. sleeping on separate couches and Sheree sleeping on the floor. A.B. testified that she fell asleep right away, but was awakened a few hours later by a light shining in her eyes. R.R. and Sheree continued sleeping. Pretending to be asleep, A.B. claimed she saw Carmichael shining a flashlight over the girls, and subsequently observed Carmichael approach R.R., lift her shirt, and touch her breast. R.R., who was thirteen at the time, did not wake up and does not have any recollection of this incident. At trial, A.B. stated that, after several minutes, she observed Carmichael stand up and turn off the flashlight. A.B. testified she heard a loud noise, but the other girls did not wake up. Carmichael then left the basement and returned upstairs. The following day, the three girls spent the day together at the Carmichael house. A.B. told R.R. what she observed. The two also told Sheree about the incident, but the girls decided to keep it a secret. Carmichael and his wife, Sheila Carmichael, testified that, on the night in question, they were asleep in their bedroom, when Sheila heard a loud noise and woke Carmichael to investigate. Carmichael checked the house with a flashlight, including the basement. While Carmichael was in the basement, Sheila stood at the top of the stairs. Sheila testified that she never lost sight of Carmichael as he looked into, but did not enter, the room where the girls were sleeping. In the morning, Sheila found a fallen window blind in the basement and assumed it was the cause of the noise. Authorities did not learn about the R.R. incident until the mother of the other alleged victim, J.V.N., informed police during an investigation of the second, subsequent, incident. J.V.N.'s mother learned about the first event through the following chain of communication: A.B. told Sheree, Sheree told J.V.N., and J.V.N. told her mother.