Ogletree v. State, 322 Ga. App. 103

Ogletree was indicted on six counts involving three victims: his seven-year-old granddaughter K.O., a neighbor’s six-year-old daughter C.B., and a mentally disabled seventeen-year-old neighbor D.C.
Counts included: (i) child molestation via touching K.O.’s vaginal area, (ii) showing K.O. nude/sexual images, (iii) enticing K.O. to a secluded location for molestation/indecent acts, (iv) child molestation via showing C.B. nude images, (v) enticing C.B. to a wooded area for molestation/indecent acts, and (vi) sexual battery via touching D.C.’s breast.
Evidence showed K.O. disclosed abuse after family confronted Ogletree; police found porn magazines in a back-yard shed; other neighbors corroborated possible conduct; deer stand and four-wheeler rides connected to incidents.
Ogletree admitted four-wheeler rides and some touching in the deer stand but denied intentional wrongdoing; his wife and others testified to his good reputation.
Forensic interviews of K.O. and C.B. were admitted at trial, detailing alleged acts by Ogletree; the jury heard the testimony and viewed recordings.
Ogletree was convicted as charged and challenged (1) denial of a directed verdict on the sexual battery count, (2) lack of an accident defense instruction, and (3) denial of a mistrial; the appellate court affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the denial of a directed verdict on the sexual battery count was error	Ogletree (Ogletree) argues the evidence failed to prove touching of D.C.’s breast beyond reasonable doubt	Ogletree contends insufficient evidence and misapplied standard for directed verdict	No reversible error; record supports jury verdict under Jackson v. Virginia standard.
Whether the court should have instructed the jury on the defense of accident	Ogletree asserts accident as a defense to multiple counts based on his testimony	State argues no plain error; charge adequate when viewed in context of full instruction on intent	Not plain error; the charge as a whole adequately instructed on intent and burden of proof.
Whether the court erred in denying mistrial after a curtailed cross-examination question	Prosecutor’s truncated question about mental health treatment was prejudicial	Question was abandoned and prejudice doubtful; defense chose not to request curative instruction	No reversible error; overwhelming evidence and proper instructions supported the verdict.

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (sufficiency standard for evidence review)
State v. Kelly, - Ga. - (-) (plain error framework adopted from Olano; four-prong test)
Olano v. United States, 507 U.S. 725 (1993) (four-pronged plain error test)
Jones v. State, 272 Ga. 900 (2000) (venue jurisdiction and burden considerations in Georgia cases)
Collins v. State, 289 Ga. 666 (2011) (overriding evidence considerations; review of trial court errors)