State v. Granere, 543 P.3d 177

Charles Philip Granere was convicted of rape of a child, object rape of a child, and aggravated sexual abuse of a child, based largely on the testimony of the victim (Beth, a pseudonym), who was ten years old at the time of the alleged abuse.
Granere was introduced to Beth by her mother, whom he was dating; alleged abuse occurred at Granere's apartment and cabin between 2013 and 2014.
Beth did not disclose the abuse until 2016, at age twelve, during conversations with a friend and later with a school counselor, which led to a formal investigation.
Physical evidence included healed hymenal transections, which a nurse attributed to penetrating trauma but could not link to any specific perpetrator.
At trial, defense counsel did not request a jury unanimity instruction for the child rape and aggravated sexual abuse charges; evidence suggesting an alternative perpetrator (Beth's uncle) was excluded.
Granere appealed, challenging ineffective assistance of counsel, exclusion of alternative perpetrator evidence, sufficiency of the evidence, and cumulative error.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Jury Unanimity Instruction	Counsel was ineffective for failing to request a proper unanimity instruction for rape and aggravated sexual abuse charges.	The jury was sufficiently instructed; no specific unanimity instruction required.	Counsel was ineffective; convictions on those counts reversed and remanded.
Exclusion of Alternative Perpetrator Evidence (Rule 412)	Excluding evidence that Beth's uncle was the source of injury was reversible error.	Evidence was speculative and would confuse or mislead the jury.	No abuse of discretion in exclusion; decision affirmed.
Sufficiency of Evidence / Inherent Improbability	Beth’s testimony was inherently improbable and insufficient for conviction.	There was sufficient, corroborated evidence for conviction; inconsistencies were for the jury to weigh.	Testimony not inherently improbable; conviction affirmed for object rape.
Other Ineffective Assistance (e.g., CJC video, closing arguments)	Counsel's tactics (playing the CJC interview, not objecting to prosecution statements) were unreasonable.	Strategic decisions within the wide range of professional assistance.	Counsel’s actions were reasonable trial strategy; no deficiency.

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (establishes the standard for ineffective assistance of counsel)
State v. Hummel, 393 P.3d 314 (Utah 2017) (jury unanimity requirement for specific acts in criminal convictions)
State v. Saunders, 992 P.2d 951 (Utah 1999) (jury must be unanimous as to specific criminal act)
State v. Eldredge, 773 P.2d 29 (Utah 1989) (low bar for witness competency; memory lapses handled under Rule 403, not 602)
State v. Ashby, 357 P.3d 554 (Utah Ct. App. 2015) (deference in appellate review of Rule 403 rulings)