Opinion ID: 2078310
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Sufficiency of the Evidence Concerning Sex Crimes

Text: Only hours after she was raped, T.K. described her assailant as a man with a dark complexion, possibly a Latin, about 5'10 with a medium to heavy build. Guajardo is 5'5 and about 135 pounds. T.K. described the vehicle as possibly yellow or beige but indicated that she did not get a good view of the vehicle's exterior. As noted above, T.K.'s description of the inside of the rapist's vehicle matched Guajardo's truck, and several of the items which T.K. had stated were in her assailant's vehicle were found in Guajardo's truck. Furthermore, she identified a rusted-out hole in the door of Guajardo's truck through which she stared during the rape. Finally, T.K. identified Guajardo as her assailant both in the courtroom and from a photographic array before trial. Guajardo argues that the victim's youth made her identification of him and his vehicle inherently improbable. He notes that her original description of her assailant's height and weight did not match Guajardo. He contends T.K.'s testimony is not sufficient to support his conviction. T.K. was 12 by the time of trial. The record reflects she gave clear, detailed and responsive testimony. She unequivocally identified Guajardo and his vehicle. The uncorroborated testimony of a victim alone is sufficient to support a conviction for rape and criminal deviate conduct. Fointno v. State (1986), Ind., 487 N.E.2d 140. In this case, the jury was also presented with evidence of hair samples taken from T.K., her clothes and Guajardo's vehicle, which corroborated T.K.'s identification. The discrepancies between T.K.'s original description of her assailant and Guajardo's appearance reflected on the weight of T.K.'s testimony. T.K. was only 4'10 at the time of trial; her vision of a larger-than-life assailant does not make her identification of Guajardo inherently incredible. The jury chose to believe T.K., and we find no legitimate reason to disturb that finding.