Court Opinion

ID: 9380757
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-03-21 13:09:52.791802+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:17:27.354757
License: Public Domain

COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
UNPUBLISHED

              Present: Judges O’Brien, Ortiz and Raphael
              Argued at Richmond, Virginia

              AIDAN JOSEPH NEVERS
                                                                             MEMORANDUM OPINION* BY
              v.     Record No. 0291-22-2                                   JUDGE MARY GRACE O’BRIEN
                                                                                  MARCH 21, 2023
              COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

                                    FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF AMELIA COUNTY
                                              Joseph M. Teefey, Jr., Judge1

                              (Marlene A. Harris, on briefs), for appellant. Appellant submitting
                              on briefs.

                              Jason D. Reed, Assistant Attorney General (Jason S. Miyares,
                              Attorney General, on brief), for appellee.

                     The trial court convicted Aidan Joseph Nevers (appellant) of rape and sentenced him to

              twenty years’ imprisonment with twelve years and ten months suspended. On appeal, appellant

              challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain his conviction and several of the court’s

              evidentiary rulings. For the following reasons, we affirm.

                                                        BACKGROUND

                     On appeal, we recite the facts “in the ‘light most favorable’ to the Commonwealth, the

              prevailing party in the trial court.” Hammer v. Commonwealth, 74 Va. App. 225, 231 (2022)

              (quoting Commonwealth v. Cady, 300 Va. 325, 329 (2021)). Doing so requires us to “discard the

              evidence of the accused in conflict with that of the Commonwealth, and regard as true all the

                     *
                         This opinion is not designated for publication. See Code § 17.1-413.
                     1
                      Although Judge Teefey presided over the trial and entered the final order, Judge Paul
              W. Cella entered the pretrial order excluding evidence of prior sexual conduct between appellant
              and S.T.—a ruling that forms the basis for one of appellant’s assignments of error.
credible evidence favorable to the Commonwealth and all fair inferences to be drawn therefrom.”

Cady, 300 Va. at 329 (quoting Commonwealth v. Perkins, 295 Va. 323, 324 (2018)).

        On May 23, 2020, 17-year-old S.T. attended a “prom party” at appellant’s home.

COVID-19 restrictions prohibited large gatherings, including school functions, and this party was

planned as a substitute prom. S.T. was classmates with appellant’s sister, Lauren, and attended the

party at the invitation of appellant’s aunt.

        S.T. and appellant had been friends for approximately five years and had previously dated.

S.T. arrived at the party alone between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., bringing a half-ounce of marijuana

and three bottles of liquor. She put the liquor in the kitchen freezer and took photos outside with the

other attendees. After the photos, S.T. began drinking the alcohol she brought and later drank a

rum-based mixture that Lauren gave her. In total, S.T. had at least six mixed drinks.

        S.T. became intoxicated and vomited outside. Lauren and her friend Autumn Lawrence,

who had both observed S.T. drinking a lot during the party, brought S.T. inside to the bathroom,

helped her undress, and put her into the shower. S.T. lay in the shower for at least an hour while her

head was “spinning,” and she threw up twice more.

        After the shower, S.T. could barely walk, so another friend of Lauren’s—McKenzie

Hainsworth—helped S.T. dress and get to a bed. S.T. was stumbling, and McKenzie held her to

keep her steady. S.T. made her way to the first bed she saw, which was appellant’s bed in a room

directly across from the shower. McKenzie testified that S.T. was “out cold” after she got to the

bed. McKenzie periodically checked on S.T. and each time found her asleep. McKenzie told

appellant, “No funny business,” because S.T. was drunk and had a boyfriend. S.T. threw up again

while lying in appellant’s bed.

        S.T. did not remember anything after entering the shower until she woke up with appellant

on top of her around 4:00 a.m., with his penis inside her vagina. After appellant “pulled out,” S.T.

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rolled away from him, and he ejaculated onto her back. S.T. got dressed and went to the bathroom.

Appellant pointed out that S.T. had vomit on her shirt, so she changed.

       Around 4:30 a.m., S.T. was still intoxicated and could not drive home. She and appellant

went to the sunroom to smoke marijuana and talk. S.T. began crying and confronted appellant

about the incident. He told her that he was “rubbing [her] body, and his dick fell between [her] butt,

and he couldn’t help himself.” At approximately 6:00 a.m., S.T. drove home and reported what

happened to her mother and McKenzie.

       The next day, S.T. and her mother went to appellant’s house and told his mother and

stepfather what happened. Appellant’s family subsequently cleaned the bathroom and downstairs of

the house and washed all the bedding. S.T. also texted appellant and told him to turn himself in.

S.T. then went to the hospital, where a forensic nurse completed a rape kit and sexual assault report.

Appellant was subsequently charged with rape.

       In December 2020, appellant filed a “Notice of Intent to Introduce Evidence of Prior Sexual

Conduct,” advising that at trial he intended to introduce evidence of his prior sexual relationship

with S.T. The Commonwealth filed a motion in limine seeking to exclude the evidence because it

was not relevant or “reasonably proximate to the offense charged” as required by Code

§ 18.2-67.7(A)(2).

       At a pretrial hearing, S.T. testified that her friendship with appellant began in 2015 and

developed into a sexual relationship in July 2019. It was undisputed that the sexual relationship

ended in November 2019. Thereafter, they “text[ed] each other sometimes” but never discussed or

had sex.

       In a letter opinion, the court granted the Commonwealth’s motion to exclude the evidence.

After first determining that the evidence was relevant to the issue of consent, the court ultimately

ruled that it was inadmissible because the sexual relationship “did not occur ‘within a period of time

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reasonably proximate to the offense charged under the circumstances of [this] case,’” quoting Code

§ 18.2-67.7(A)(2). In reaching this conclusion, the court noted that six months had elapsed between

the “clean break” of the parties’ sexual relationship and the offense date.

        At trial, the court made additional evidentiary rulings challenged on appeal. During the

cross-examination of Ethan Lawrence, a Commonwealth’s witness who had attended the party,

appellant repeatedly asked if he saw S.T. dancing at the party. Ethan replied “no” multiple times.

The court precluded appellant from showing Ethan photographs to refresh his recollection because

Ethan had unequivocally testified that he did not see S.T. dancing.

        During the testimony of appellant’s aunt, appellant asked if S.T. had ever talked about her

relationship with her boyfriend at the time. The Commonwealth objected, arguing that the question

called for hearsay. Appellant responded that the statements would show S.T.’s state of mind. The

court sustained the objection. Appellant next argued that the statements would be “probative of

what [S.T.] denied” and thus were “offered in rebuttal to . . . her own testimony before the [c]ourt.”

The court ruled that, because the Commonwealth’s objection was based on hearsay and not

relevance, “the probative value versus prejudicial effect doesn’t have any calculus in the decision of

the [c]ourt.” The court therefore excluded the testimony. Appellant made no proffer of the

excluded evidence.

        Several adults present at the party denied seeing anyone—including S.T.—drink alcohol or

display signs of intoxication. Appellant’s stepbrother, Caiden Muscat, also testified that he did not

see S.T. intoxicated that night. Caiden first claimed that S.T. was not drinking at the party but later

admitted that she was. Caiden, who shares a bedroom with appellant, further testified that he

walked into the room around 2:00 a.m. and saw S.T. lying alone on appellant’s bed. When Caiden

later got into his own bed at approximately 3:30 a.m., he saw that appellant was lying with S.T.

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        Appellant testified in his defense. He stated that, on the night of the party, he started

drinking S.T.’s alcohol at 7:00 p.m. and he and S.T. danced together and interacted “quite often.”

According to appellant, at one point S.T. jumped on his back near the dance floor and told him that

she missed him and was “stressing” about her current boyfriend. About five to ten minutes later,

S.T. found appellant in the sunroom, they spoke for twenty minutes with their legs touching, and

S.T. hugged him. Appellant later saw S.T. drinking but testified that she displayed no signs of

intoxication at that time. Appellant claimed that, after another conversation, S.T. hugged him and

said she loved and missed him. Appellant saw S.T. vomit outside, and he told Lauren and her

friends McKenzie and Autumn to put S.T. in the shower.

        Appellant did not remember McKenzie telling him, “No funny business.” According to

appellant, he lay down in bed next to S.T. at some point after 1:30 a.m. and fell asleep. Appellant

testified that about two hours later, he awoke when S.T. grabbed his arm and placed it on her breast.

He denied initiating sexual contact with S.T. but acknowledged participating once it began. He

admitted that they had intercourse, which ended when he “pulled out” and ejaculated onto S.T.’s

back. Appellant testified that S.T.’s cell phone rang, and they both immediately got out of bed and

went to the bathroom.

        Appellant testified that S.T. did not appear intoxicated at any point after the intercourse. He

and S.T. went to the sunroom and smoked marijuana on the couch with their legs touching for about

two hours. After S.T. received a call from her boyfriend, her mood became “[p]rogressively

worse,” and she started crying. Appellant testified that, after he and S.T. walked to her car to

retrieve medicine for a friend, S.T. accused him of raping her. At trial, appellant denied forcing

himself on S.T., asserting that he “would never take advantage of anybody.” He testified that S.T.

was his best friend and he “love[d] her with all [his] heart.”

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       After the close of the evidence and argument by counsel, the court found the evidence

established that there was “a pretty large consumption of alcohol” and S.T. was so inebriated that

she vomited multiple times. The court found that the testimony of S.T., McKenzie, and Autumn

was credible and accepted their version of events over appellant’s and other party attendees’.

Additionally, the court found that the adults’ testimony was incredible. The court convicted

appellant of rape.

                                            ANALYSIS

                                        I. Evidentiary Issues

       “The admissibility of evidence is within the broad discretion of the trial court, and a

ruling will not be disturbed on appeal in the absence of an abuse of discretion.” Warnick v.

Commonwealth, 72 Va. App. 251, 263 (2020) (quoting Amonett v. Commonwealth, 70 Va. App.

1, 9 (2019)). Under that standard, a “trial judge’s ruling will not be reversed simply because an

appellate court disagrees.” Hicks v. Commonwealth, 71 Va. App. 255, 275 (2019) (quoting

Campos v. Commonwealth, 67 Va. App. 690, 702 (2017)). Rather, a reviewing court can

conclude that “an abuse of discretion has occurred” only when “reasonable jurists could not

differ” about the correct result. Commonwealth v. Swann, 290 Va. 194, 197 (2015) (quoting

Grattan v. Commonwealth, 278 Va. 602, 620 (2009)).

                                      A. Prior Sexual Conduct

       Code § 18.2-67.7, often called the rape shield law, provides that “[i]n prosecutions [for rape

and other sexual offenses], general reputation or opinion evidence of the complaining witness’s

unchaste character or prior sexual conduct shall not be admitted.” Code § 18.2-67.7(A); see Va. R.

Evid. 2:412. The statute further provides that “evidence of specific instances of [a complaining

witness’s] prior sexual conduct shall be admitted only if it is relevant” and is encompassed by

one of three enumerated exceptions. Code § 18.2-67.7(A). Appellant sought to admit evidence

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of his prior sexual relationship with S.T. under the exception set forth in Code § 18.2-67.7(A)(2),

which allows:

           [e]vidence of sexual conduct between the complaining witness and the
           accused offered to support a contention that the alleged offense was
           not accomplished by force, threat or intimidation or through the use of
           the complaining witness’s mental incapacity or physical helplessness,
           provided that the sexual conduct occurred within a period of time
           reasonably proximate to the offense charged under the circumstances
           of this case.

Appellant argues that the court erred in excluding the evidence on the ground that it was not

“reasonably proximate to the offense charged.” Code § 18.2-67.7(A)(2). In addition, he asserts the

court erred by “ending its determination there” and not considering “whether the exclusion of the

evidence would deny [him] a fair opportunity to present evidence probative of his defense.”

       Reasonably proximate “is a relative term which varies according to the situation.”

League v. Commonwealth, 9 Va. App. 199, 208 (1989), aff’d on reh’g en banc, 10 Va. App. 428

(1990). “Whether prior sexual contact is ‘reasonably proximate’ to the offense charged must be

decided based on the totality of the circumstances of each case.” Id. (quoting Code

§ 18.2-67.7(A)(2)).

       In League, this Court reversed a trial court’s determination that sexual contact was not

reasonably proximate because it occurred eight or nine months before the incident. 10 Va. App.

at 208-09. We held that the court inappropriately focused on the time that had elapsed, when

other evidence suggested that the victim had previously told the defendant that “future sex would

cost him $50.” Id. at 209. We stated that a proper inquiry into whether sexual contact was

reasonably proximate involves considering not only the time between the two alleged sexual acts

but also “the nature” of the two acts, “whether the relationship was a continuing one,” and “the

circumstances surrounding the alleged offense.” Id. at 208. Those factors “govern whether the

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evidentiary value of the prior conduct is so remote that it cannot fairly be said to have probative

value on the issue whether the [victim] consented to the sexual act” at issue. Id.

       Here, the court properly considered the factors required in League in concluding that the

proposed evidence was not reasonably proximate. The court acknowledged that the alleged

timeframe between the incidents, six months, was less than the timeframe at issue in League.

Nevertheless, unlike in League, the evidence established a “clean break” in the sexual

relationship between S.T. and appellant, after which they exchanged only “innocuous social

communications.” Thus, the court concluded that the length of time between the sexual conduct

“combined with the lack of any further discussions regarding sexual relations” meant the

evidence was not “reasonably proximate.” That finding was within the “bell-shaped curve of

reasonability governing our appellate review,” Minh Duy Du v. Commonwealth, 292 Va. 555,

564 (2016) (quoting Sauder v. Ferguson, 289 Va. 449, 459 (2015)), and, therefore, we find no

abuse of discretion.

       Nevertheless, appellant argues that exclusion of this evidence violated his Sixth

Amendment right to present evidence on his behalf. The Sixth Amendment right to confront

witnesses, combined with due process guarantees in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, “give

[a] defendant a constitutional right to present relevant evidence.” Neeley v. Commonwealth, 17

Va. App. 349, 356 (1993). “This right must on occasion give way to the broader interest of the

government in fairly administering justice.” Id. Rules of evidence, for example, may “limit the

right of a defendant to present relevant evidence” that is not material. Id.; cf. Warnick, 72

Va. App. at 263-64 (“Although a criminal defendant has the right to ‘call for evidence in his

favor,’” such evidence is “nonetheless subject to the Virginia Rules of Evidence.” (quoting Va.

Const. art. 1, § 8)). We have distinguished between relevant and material evidence as follows:

“‘[E]vidence is relevant if it tends to establish the proposition for which it is offered.’ Evidence

                                                -8-
is material if it relates to a matter properly at issue.” Neeley, 17 Va. App. at 356-57 (quoting

Evans-Smith v. Commonwealth, 5 Va. App. 188, 196 (1987)).

       “Properly understood, the rape shield law serves as a predicate to the constitutional

analysis for the admission of evidence of a victim’s prior sexual conduct in a sexual assault

case.” Id. at 357. If the court determines that relevant evidence does not “fall[] within one of the

enumerated exceptions in the statute,” that is “by implication” a conclusion that the evidence is

not “material.” Id. at 357-58. The exclusion of immaterial evidence does not violate the Sixth

Amendment or due process, which only protect a defendant’s right to present relevant, material

evidence. See id. at 356, 357-58.

       Here, after finding that the evidence of S.T. and appellant’s prior sexual relationship was

relevant to the issue of consent, the court determined that the relationship was not “reasonably

proximate” to the incident. Code § 18.2-67.7(A)(2). By implication, then, the court also found

that the evidence was not material and appellant’s constitutional rights would not be violated by

its exclusion. See Neeley, 17 Va. App. at 356, 357-58. Indeed, given the “clean break” in the

relationship and merely innocuous communications in the six months before the offense, any

evidence of S.T.’s prior sexual relationship with appellant does not “relate[] to a matter properly

at issue.” Id. The court was not required, as appellant argues, to weigh the probative value of

the evidence against its prejudicial effect, a requirement only applicable to “other relevant,

material evidence, not within the enumerated exceptions.” Id. at 358. Thus, the court did not err

in excluding the evidence of appellant and S.T.’s prior sexual relationship.

                                     B. Refreshed Recollection

       Appellant argues the court erred in denying him the opportunity to refresh Ethan’s

recollection after he testified that he did not see S.T. dancing at the party.

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       “The act of refreshing a witness’s recollection does not involve contradicting that

witness’s testimony.” Ruhlin v. Samaan, 282 Va. 371, 379 (2011). “Rather, ‘when a witness has

a memory lapse on the stand[,] . . . a party may attempt to “refresh” the witness’s memory by

having the witness examine materials relating to the matter for which they are testifying.’” Id.

(quoting McGann v. Commonwealth, 15 Va. App. 448, 451-52 (1992)). “After examining such

materials, a witness may then ‘speak to the facts from his own recollection.’” Id. (quoting

Harrison v. Middleton, 52 Va. (11 Gratt.) 527, 544 (1854)).

       Here, Ethan did not have a “memory lapse on the stand.” Id. (quoting McGann, 15

Va. App. at 451). Instead, he stated multiple times that he had not seen S.T. dancing at the party.

Thus, appellant was not attempting to refresh the witness’s recollection but, rather, to contradict

his testimony. Under those circumstances, the court did not abuse its discretion by refusing to

allow appellant to show him photographs that contradicted his testimony ostensibly to refresh his

recollection.

                                            C. Hearsay

       Appellant argues that the court erred in excluding S.T.’s out-of-court statements in

response to a question about her boyfriend. Appellant asserts that because the statements would

have been introduced to show S.T.’s state of mind, not for the truth of the matter asserted, the

hearsay exclusion did not apply.

       “In Virginia, when ‘testimony is rejected before it is delivered, an appellate court has no

basis for adjudication unless the record reflects a proper proffer.’” Ray v. Commonwealth, 55

Va. App. 647, 649 (2010) (quoting Whittaker v. Commonwealth, 217 Va. 966, 968 (1977)).

“When an appellant claims a trial court abused its discretion in excluding evidence, we cannot

competently determine error—much less reversible error—without ‘a proper showing of what

that testimony would have been.’” Id. (quoting Tynes v. Commonwealth, 49 Va. App. 17, 21

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(2006)). “Absent a proffer showing ‘harm was done,’ we are ‘forbidden to consider the

question.’” Id. at 650 (quoting Scott v. Commonwealth, 191 Va. 73, 78-79 (1950)).

       Here, the court sustained the Commonwealth’s hearsay objection to the testimony.

Appellant asserted that S.T.’s statement would show her state of mind and would be probative of

what S.T. denied during her own testimony. At no point, however, did appellant proffer what the

testimony would have been. Without a proffer, “we cannot competently determine error” and are

“‘forbidden to consider the question.’” Id. at 649-50 (quoting Scott, 191 Va. at 79). Thus,

appellant has waived this assignment of error.

                                  II. Sufficiency of the Evidence

       Appellant argues the court erred in finding that the evidence was sufficient to sustain his

conviction because the Commonwealth failed to prove that S.T. was physically helpless at the

time of the offense. See Code §§ 18.2-61(A)(ii); -67.10(4). He maintains that the only evidence

of S.T’s physical helplessness “was from [five] to [six] hours before the sexual intercourse.”2

       2
          Appellant also suggests the evidence failed to prove that he “was on notice of S.T.’s
condition,” as required by the definition of “[p]hysical helplessness” in Code § 18.2-67.10(4).
That argument, however, is waived because appellant’s opening brief fails to comply with Rule
5A:20(e). An opening brief must contain “[t]he standard of review and the argument (including
principles of law and authorities) relating to each assignment of error.” Rule 5A:20(e).
“[W]here a party fails to develop an argument in support of his or her contention or merely
constructs a skeletal argument, the issue is waived.” Bartley v. Commonwealth, 67 Va. App.
740, 746 (2017) (quoting Sneed v. Bd. of Pro. Resp. of the Sup. Ct. of Tenn., 301 S.W.3d 603,
615 (Tenn. 2010)).
        Consistent with these principles, we have held that a criminal defendant’s failure to
comply with Rule 5A:20(e) was significant when he made “one reference” to a single case and
failed to support his argument “with any legal analysis or authority from [that case] or any other
source.” Id. at 745. Consequently, we declined to consider his arguments. Id. at 746-47.
        Similarly, here, appellant’s brief makes a passing reference to Code § 18.2-67.10(4)’s
requirement that the evidence prove he was “on notice” of S.T.’s condition before generally
concluding that the evidence failed to prove he was on notice. He cites no other legal authority
and, at best, posits a skeletal argument that fails to provide this Court with a “legal prism through
which to view his alleged error.” Id. at 746. Accordingly, his argument is waived.
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       Any “person [who] has sexual intercourse with a complaining witness . . . through the use

of the complaining witness’s mental incapacity or physical helplessness . . . shall be guilty of

rape.” Code § 18.2-61(A)(ii). “‘Physical helplessness’ means unconsciousness or any other

condition existing at the time of [the] offense . . . which otherwise rendered the complaining

witness physically unable to communicate an unwillingness to act and about which the accused

knew or should have known.” Code § 18.2-67.10(4). “Unconsciousness is defined as ‘[n]ot

possessed of mind. . . . Insensible to the reception of any stimuli and incapable of performing or

experiencing any controlled functions,’ or ‘[h]aving lost, esp. temporarily, the capacity for

sensory perception.’” Woodward v. Commonwealth, 12 Va. App. 118, 121 (1991) (alterations in

original) (first quoting Black’s Law Dictionary 1367 (5th ed. 1983); and then quoting The

American Heritage Dictionary 1318 (2d College ed. 1982)). Thus, we have held that “engaging

in sexual intercourse with a sleeping victim can constitute commission of the crime of rape, in

violation of Code § 18.2-61, by means of the victim’s ‘physical helplessness.’” Conley v.

Commonwealth, 74 Va. App. 658, 678 (2022) (quoting Nelson v. Commonwealth, 73 Va. App.

617, 627 n.5 (2021)). “[L]ongstanding common law principles . . . recognize that a victim is

unable to give consent for sexual contact while sleeping.” Id. at 677 (second alteration in

original) (quoting Nelson, 73 Va. App. at 626). “[B]ecause consensual sexual activity requires

‘continued consent’ during the duration of the activity, whenever a sleeping person is unable to

express consent, that person consequently cannot consent to sexual activity.” Id. at 678-79.

       Additionally, appellant’s challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence implicates the

court’s determination of witness credibility. “Determining the credibility of witnesses . . . is

within the exclusive province of the [fact finder], which has the unique opportunity to observe

the demeanor of the witnesses as they testify.” Dalton v. Commonwealth, 64 Va. App. 512, 525

(2015) (first alteration in original) (quoting Lea v. Commonwealth, 16 Va. App. 300, 304

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(1993)). “[T]he conclusions of the fact finder on issues of witness credibility may be disturbed

on appeal only when we find that the witness’ testimony was ‘inherently incredible, or so

contrary to human experience as to render it unworthy of belief.’” Ragsdale v. Commonwealth,

38 Va. App. 421, 429 (2002) (quoting Ashby v. Commonwealth, 33 Va. App. 540, 548 (2000)).

“Evidence is not ‘incredible’ unless it is ‘so manifestly false that reasonable men ought not to

believe it’ or ‘shown to be false by objects or things as to the existence and meaning of which

reasonable men should not differ.’” Gerald v. Commonwealth, 295 Va. 469, 487 (2018) (quoting

Juniper v. Commonwealth, 271 Va. 362, 415 (2006)).

       Here, the evidence demonstrated that S.T. consumed at least six drinks, five of which

were composed entirely of alcohol. She vomited outside, in the shower, and in appellant’s bed.

Although appellant claimed S.T. did not exhibit signs of intoxication, he admitted that he saw her

vomit outside. S.T. did not remember anything after lying in the shower until she woke up with

appellant on top of her around 4:00 a.m., with his penis inside of her vagina. Accordingly, the

record establishes that S.T. was heavily intoxicated, asleep, and “unable to communicate an

unwillingness to act.” Code § 18.2-67.10(4).

       Although appellant’s conviction may be sustained on S.T.’s uncorroborated testimony

alone, see Nobrega v. Commonwealth, 271 Va. 508, 519 (2006), the record provides ample

corroboration, see Lambert v. Commonwealth, 70 Va. App. 740, 760 (2019) (holding that a

witness’s testimony was not inherently incredible when it was corroborated by other evidence).

Multiple witnesses testified to S.T.’s condition and described her as very intoxicated. The

witnesses who helped S.T. in the shower saw her vomit there twice more. She could barely walk

and needed to be held up. Immediately after S.T. reached the closest bed to the bathroom, she

was “out cold” and remained asleep each time McKenzie checked on her.

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       After balancing all the evidence, the court found S.T.’s corroborated testimony credible.

That evidence supported the finding that she fell asleep after excessive drinking and awoke with

appellant on top of her, with his penis inside her vagina; thus, she was physically helpless at the

time of the offense. See Code §§ 18.2-61(A)(ii), -67.10(4). The Commonwealth’s evidence was

competent, not inherently incredible, and sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that

appellant was guilty of rape.

                                          CONCLUSION

       For these reasons, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.

                                                                                           Affirmed.

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