Slone v. Commonwealth, 382 S.W.3d 851

Appellant William D. Slone was convicted in Campbell Circuit Court of first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy, and being a first-degree persistent felony offender, with a 30-year sentence.
The victim reported being sexually assaulted after apparent intoxication; a 911 call captured the assault, and police later recovered the victim and evidence including a DNA match to Slone.
The victim feared contracting an STD from Slone and received STD prophylaxis after the incident.
DNA testing results had recently become available, and a new sodomy count was added five days before a previously scheduled trial date.
The Commonwealth sought a continuance when the victim failed to appear for the February trial date, and the court granted the request over Slone’s objection, with precautions for future appearances.
The defense raised multiple issues on appeal including continuance discretion, cross-examination limits, admission of fear-of-STD evidence, discovery of the final SANE report, competency evaluations, prosecutorial remarks, and juror removal for cause.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Continuance proper given new charge and DNA results	Slone argues the continuance was an abuse of discretion	Commonwealth contends delays were justified by evidence and prejudice to the state	No abuse of discretion; continuance proper
Cross-examining victim about failure to appear	Cross-examination about failure to appear relevant to credibility	Court limited questioning to avoid undue prejudice	Court did not abuse discretion in limiting questions
Admission of fear of STD testimony	Evidence relevant to consent/corroboration of fear	Evidence is unduly prejudicial and irrelevant	Evidence relevant and admissible under KRE 402/403
Mistrial for late SANE report disclosure	Final SANE report undisclosed mid-trial	No exculpatory material not previously disclosed	No mistrial; no reasonable probability of different result
Competency evaluation before trial or before sentencing	Trial court should have ordered pre-trial competency hearing	No substantial doubt of incompetency; no mandatory pre-trial hearing failed	No pre-trial competency error; post-trial evaluation supported competency for sentencing

Edmonds v. Commonwealth, 189 S.W.3d 558 (Ky. 2006) (relevant factors for continuance denial/approval)
Wells v. Salyer, 452 S.W.2d 392 (Ky. 1970) (abuse of discretion standard for continuances)
Terry v. Commonwealth, 153 S.W.3d 794 (Ky. 2005) (witness testimony and probative value vs. prejudice)