State v. Page, 2017 Ohio 568

Defendant Wesley T. Page (maternal uncle) was indicted for two counts of rape of a child under 13 and two counts of gross sexual imposition for acts alleged to have occurred between May 2011 and May 2013 against his niece, A., who was 8–9 at the time and 13 at trial.
Victim testified to three incidents: two involving oral contact and oral-genital contact at Page’s home (including one with ejaculation into victim’s mouth), and a later incident of inappropriate touching on the thigh/stomach; she disclosed the thigh incident to her mother within minutes.
Mother observed the victim upset on Memorial Day weekend 2013, scheduled a psychologist appointment after disclosure, and later reported the allegations to Children Services and other family members.
No DNA or medical evidence was collected due to the passage of time; investigation included testimony about Page’s subsequent move to Florida and his sporadic employment as a purported “storm chaser.”
At trial the jury convicted Page on all counts; he was sentenced to concurrent terms totaling 10 years to life and classified as a Tier III sex offender for the rape convictions.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence / denial of Crim.R. 29	State: Victim’s testimony alone, if believed, proves elements of rape and GSI	Page: Victim’s testimony inconsistent; no medical/DNA corroboration; testimony not credible	Court: Evidence sufficient; Crim.R. 29 denial proper; conviction not against manifest weight
Manifest weight of the evidence	State: Jury entitled to credit victim; details indicated experience of abuse	Page: Inconsistencies and lack of corroboration undermine credibility	Court: No manifest miscarriage of justice; credibility determinations for jury
Admission of out-of-court statements / hearsay	State: Mother’s and victim’s testimony about disclosure offered to explain actions and not to prove truth of separate statements	Page: Admission improperly bolstered victim through hearsay	Court: No abuse of discretion; victim’s testimony and Mother’s testimony permissible for non‑hearsay purposes and victim was subject to cross-examination
Evidence of flight / move to Florida	State: Timing and circumstances of move relevant to consciousness of guilt and motive	Page: Move was prejudicial; no proof he fled knowing of allegations	Held: Trial court admitted testimony as relevant; no plain error; jury instructed on consciousness of guilt; no manifest prejudice

State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (on manifest-weight standard)
State v. Martin, 20 Ohio App.3d 172 (1st Dist.) (standard for reversing on manifest weight)
State v. Johnson, 112 Ohio St.3d 210 (corroboration not required in rape cases)
State v. Sage, 31 Ohio St.3d 173 (admission/exclusion of evidence reviewed for abuse of discretion)
State v. Hancock, 108 Ohio St.3d 57 (definition of abuse of discretion)
State v. Long, 53 Ohio St.2d 91 (plain error standard)