Opinion ID: 2337673
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Locus of the Assault

Text: In his charge to the jury the trial justice instructed that one of the factors the state had to prove in this case was that the assault occurred in Providence County. Since we have already ruled that the statements of Ann were properly received into evidence, that portion thereof in which she described the area where the assault occurred in conjunction with other testimony was relevant to show that the crime was committed in Burrillville which is a town in the County of Providence. Her mother said her daughter described the place where the assault occurred as a sandy area. According to Ann's statement to her mother, she was attacked in a sandy area where she saw a log with cans on it, a Coca-Cola cooler and a refrigerator. A Woonsocket detective testified that Ann accompanied him on the day following her return home as he drove throughout the neighboring towns looking for a place which matched the young lady's description. He said that they came upon a sandpit where he found the log and cans and adjacent thereto was a dump where the officer found a discarded cooler and refrigerator. Pictures were introduced into evidence which showed the various items enumerated by Ann. The chief of the Burrillville police department testified that the sandpit and dump were within the bounds of his town. In our opinion, the record contains competent evidence which could have justified the jury's finding that the crime occurred in Providence County.