State v. Franklin, 2016 Ohio 56

EB, born Sept. 24, 2000, is Franklin's stepdaughter; Franklin moved into the family home and married Mother in 2010.
Beginning in 2011, EB testified Franklin touched her buttocks outside and then inside clothing, including vaginal contact and oral contact.
Mother learned of earlier incidents in June 2011 from EB's journal; EB feared telling and was threatened by Franklin.
Franklin left the home after confrontations, apologized, and returned; he left the home again after further disclosures.
A second and third wave of incidents occurred, leading to Mother's divorce from Franklin in December 2013.
A grand jury indicted Franklin on twelve counts; he waived jury trial and the case proceeded as a bench trial; the court granted a Rule 29 motion on four counts; Franklin was convicted of two counts of gross sexual imposition and sentenced to two 36-month terms concurrent.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence	Franklin argues insufficient evidence for gross sexual imposition.	Franklin asserts no proof of sexual arousal/gratification purpose.	Sufficient evidence shown; verdict affirmed.
Manifest weight of the evidence	Convictions against weight of evidence due to credibility issues.	Trial court credited other witnesses and Franklin's testimony; not against weight.	Not against the manifest weight; credibility determinations lie with the trial court.
Plain error on hearsay testimony	Mother's recounting of daughters' statements was hearsay and should have been excluded.	Statements were non-hearsay or harmless cumulative error; no effect on outcome.	No Plain error; any error harmless due to cumulative testimony.
Ineffective assistance of counsel	Counsel failed to object to hearsay and to the deputy's analysis in the video statement.	Failure to object was not prejudicial; no reversible error shown.	No ineffective assistance; no prejudice established.

State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (Ohio 1997) (sufficiency review; de novo; light most favorable to prosecution)
State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (Ohio 1991) (clear standard for sufficiency; rational finder could convict)
State v. Just, 9th Dist. Wayne No. 12CA0002 (2012) (credibility determinations primarily for trier of fact)
State v. Antoline, 2003-Ohio-1130 (9th Dist. Lorain) (infer purpose of arousal from contact and circumstances)
State v. Cobb, 81 Ohio App.3d 179 (9th Dist. 1991) (infers sexual purpose from behavior and context)
State v. Otten, 33 Ohio App.3d 339 (1986) (weight of the evidence standard)
State v. Carson, 9th Dist. Summit No. 26900 (2013) (reversal only in exceptional weight-of-the-evidence cases)
State v. Royston, 9th Dist. Summit No. 19182 (1999) (harmless error when cumulative testimony)
State v. May, 3d Dist. Logan No. 8-11-19 (2012) (harmless error when cumulative hearsay testimony)
Cleveland v. Welms, 169 Ohio App.3d 600 (8th Dist. 2006) (trier-of-fact credibility assessments)