Commonwealth v. Thomas Newcomb
Case No. 10-P-1369
2011 Mass. App. LEXIS 1218
Appeals Court
September 28, 2011
Rape; Sufficiency of the Evidence; Prior Misconduct; Constructive Force
The defendant on appeal argued that the trial judge erred in denying his motion for a required finding of not guilty because there was insufficient evidence to convict him on two counts of adult rape. Specifically, the defendant argued on appeal that the Commonwealth did not present sufficient evidence to support its theory of constructive force.
Facts
The victim was the defendant's adult biological daughter who was 35 years old at trial. At trial, the victim testified that the sexual intercourse with the defendant always followed the same pattern upon its commencement when she was approximately 13 or 14 years of age. The defendant would return home from drinking at another location in a "nasty, fresh" mood and would have intercourse with her in the living room of the family room while her mother and two brothers either slept or were away. The victim also testified that she was afraid of the defendant when he would arrive home drunk due to his violent nature. Moreover, the victim had the defendant's child due to these incidents and continued to live at the home after turning 18. The Appeals Court affirmed the convictions.
Issue: Did the Commonwealth present sufficient evidence for the rape convictions?
The Appeals Court upheld the convictions because the evidence of a prior pattern of repeated sexual assaults by the defendant upon the victim when she was a child and the statements that the assaults always happened in the same way supported a finding that the sexual assaults occurred with constructive force. Additionally, the fact finder could still reasonably conclude that the victim's fear did not abate despite the fact that some sexual assaults occurred when the victim was an adult.
Although the Appeals Court upheld the convictions, it did not go so far as to rule that any prior pattern of incest rendered the victim incapable of consenting to the defendant's sexual assaults, which would only require the Commonwealth to show the force necessary to accomplish the act.
Convictions affirmed.
Prepared by AAO
