A jury fоund Charles Edward Gravitt guilty of two counts of cruelty to children and one count each of incest, aggravated child molestation, аggravated sodomy, and sexual battery related to his daughter and two counts of aggravated sexual battery and one count оf cruelty to children related to his girl friend’s daughter. Gravitt appeals his convictions, and we affirm.
1. In his first enumeration of error, Gravitt cоntends the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions. On appeal of a criminal conviction based on a jury verdict, this Court resolves all conflicts in favor of the verdict and examines the evidence in a light most favorable to support thаt verdict.
Gable v. State,
During weekend visits with Gravitt, Gravitt insisted his daugh *761 ter sleep with him and made his girl friends sleep оn the floor or the sofa. He also encouraged her to drink alcohol. Gravitt continued to have sexual intercourse with his daughter until she turned 17.
Gravitt’s daughter never told anyone about the occurrences because she was scared and ashamed. She finally told her fiance that her father had been having sexual intercourse with her. Her fiance corroborated her admission аbout her father. She subsequently told law enforcement officials and her mother. The psychotherapist who treated and evаluated Gravitt’s daughter testified that Gravitt’s daughter told her that Gravitt had sexually abused her from age ten to seventeen. She concluded that the victim exhibited behavior consistent with victims of sexual abuse.
The other victim is the daughter of a woman with whom Gravitt lived during the summer of 1991. The victim was 13 years old at the time. She confirmed that when Gravitt’s daughter came to visit, her mom would sleep on the couch and Gravitt’s dаughter would sleep with him. The victim’s mother gave consistent testimony as to the sleeping arrangements. On one occasion Gravitt fоndled the victim, and on another occasion, Gravitt inserted his finger into her vagina. On a third occasion, Gravitt stuck the top of a lotion bottle inside her vagina. The victim told her mother, but her mother did not believe her.
A police investigator corroborated thе allegations of both victims.
Similar transaction evidence revealed that in 1985 and 1986, Gravitt lived with another woman and her two daughters. Grаvitt molested those two girls over a six-month period when the girls were approximately ten and eleven years old. Gravitt also hаd oral sex with one of the girls.
We find the evidence adduced at trial sufficient to authorize a rational trier of fact to find Gravitt guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of all the charges against him. See
Gable,
supra;
Legg v. State,
2. In his second enumeration of error, Gravitt contends the trial court erred in refusing to allow him to present evidence of a prior falsе allegation by one of the victims. In
Smith v. State,
Outside the presence of the jury, Gravitt proffered evidence that a 1982 child molestation case involving his girl friend’s daughter had been dead-docketed. Gravitt offered this evidence to prove that the victim had made false allegations against her father in 1981. Gravitt admitted there was no explanation given for the dead docket and acknowledged that the victim was only three years old at the time.
Defense counsel admitted, “these just bring up the bare possibility of falsity. And I’m not sure, frankly, that in and оf themselves they would reach the threshold requirement. . . .” The trial court determined that there was no reasonable probability thаt the previous allegations were false. Based on the evidence presented, we find the trial court did not err in excluding the proposed evidence.
3. In his third enumeration of error, Gravitt maintains the trial court erred in admitting evidence of similar transactions. We disagree.
“ ‘In crimes involving sexual offenses, evidence of similar previous transactions is admissible to show the lustful disposition of thе defendant and to corroborate the victim’s testimony. . . . There need only be evidence that the defendant was the perрetrator of both crimes and sufficient similarity or connection between the independent crime and the offenses chargеd.’ [Cit.]”
Stine v. State,
A daughter of a woman with whom Gravitt had previously lived testified that when she was ten years old Gravitt touched her breasts and vagina throughout the time he lived with her mother. Likewise, a second daughter testified she was 12 or 13 years old when Gravitt touched her genital area аnd performed oral sex on her during that period. It is undisputed that Gravitt was never prosecuted for these offenses. The mother testified that her two daughters reported to her that Gravitt had committed sexual acts upon them.
We are satisfied that there exists a sufficient similarity or connection between the prior independent crimes and the offenses charged. All of the incidents involvеd Gravitt molesting young girls, either his own daughter or daughters of girl friends. Moreover, the rules regarding the use of similar transaction evidence аre construed most liberally in cases involving sexual offenses.
Lumsden v. State,
Judgment affirmed.