ATKINS v. the STATE. ( 2018 )

WHOLE COURT
NOTICE: Motions for reconsideration must be
physically received in our clerk’s office within ten
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September 28, 2018
In the Court of Appeals of Georgia
A17A0240. ATKINS v. THE STATE.
BETHEL, Judge.
In Atkins v. State, No. S17G1996, 2018 WL 3965743 (Ga. Aug. 20, 2018), the
Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed in part and reversed in part our previous decision
in Atkins v. State, 342 Ga. App. 422 (803 SE2d 122) (2017). Specifically, the
Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed our holding that under OCGA § 24-4-412, the
trial court properly prohibited Atkins from seeking testimony regarding the victim’s
sexual activity, but reversed our decision that a victim’s prior statements can
constitute sufficient corroboration under OCGA § 16-6-3. Instead, our Supreme Court
concluded that a victim’s prior consistent statement cannot provide the required
corroborating evidence needed to support a conviction for statutory rape. In so ruling,
it determined there must be a showing of some independent evidence separate from
the victim’s statement that supports the conclusion that the defendant committed the
statutory rape of the victim.
Accordingly, we adopt the judgment of the Supreme Court of Georgia as our
own, and we vacate the jury’s verdict with respect to the statutory rape conviction
only.
Judgment affirmed in part and reversed in part. Barnes, P. J., Miller, P. J.,
Doyle, P. J., McFadden, P. J., and McMillian, Mercier, Reese, and Gobeil, JJ.,
concur.
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