Yul Bernard Rogers was indicted for the offense of aggravated assault and after a bench trial was found guilty but mentally ill. He appeals.
Appellant contends the trial court erred by finding that appellant failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that he was insane at the time the offense was committed. The transcript does not support appellant’s contention that he was unable to distinguish right from wrong so as to assert the defense of OCGA § 16-3-2, as the expert witnesses called by both the State and appellant testified that appellant’s schizophrenia did not prevent him from understanding the difference between right and wrong at the time of the assault. Although evidence was adduced that appellant may have had the delusional compulsion that his neighbors (including the victim) were hunting him, “[t]o support a finding that a defendant is not guilty of a criminal act under OCGA § 16-3-3 [the delusional compulsion de
The evidence at trial established that even if appellant had a delusion that he was being hunted by the victim and his neighbors, that delusion would not have justified the sexual nature of appellant’s assault on the victim, as we agree with the State that “[a] person who fears he is being hunted does not demand that the hunter have sex with him.” Applying the standard for appellate review of the sufficiency of the evidence with regard to the factfinder’s finding of sanity in a criminal case as set forth in Brown v. State, 250 Ga. 66, 71-72 (2) (c) (295 SE2d 727) (1982), we find that after reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, a rational trier of fact could have found that appellant failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that he was insane at the time of the crime. Accordingly, we find no error in the trial court’s judgment of guilty but mentally ill.
Judgment affirmed.
