COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO, EIGHTH DISTRICT COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA NO. 69724 STATE OF OHIO, : : Plaintiff-Appellee : : JOURNAL ENTRY vs. : and : OPINION WILLIE EDDY, : : Defendant-Appellant : DATE OF ANNOUNCEMENT OF DECISION : DECEMBER 5, 1996 CHARACTER OF PROCEEDING : Criminal appeal from : Common Pleas Court : Case No. CR-320033 JUDGMENT : AFFIRMED. DATE OF JOURNALIZATION : _______________________ APPEARANCES: For plaintiff-appellee: Deborah Naiman Assistant County Prosecutor Justice Center - 8th Floor 1200 Ontario Street Cleveland, Ohio 44113 For defendant-appellant: Scott Roger Hurley Assistant Public Defender 100 Lakeside Place 1200 West Third Street Cleveland, Ohio 44113 -2- NAHRA, J.: Appellant, Willie Eddy ("Eddy"), appeals eight convictions rendered against him in a Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. A jury convicted Eddy on five counts of rape, in violation of R.C. 2907.02, for having sexual contact with a minor under the age of thirteen by purposely compelling her to submit by the use or threat of force. The jury also found appellant guilty of two counts of disseminating obscene matter to a juvenile, in violation of 2907.31, and of one count of corrupting another with drugs, in violation of R.C. 2925.02. For the following reasons we affirm the convictions. The facts of the case were disputed at trial. It is clear that in February, 1993, Eddy became involved with Brenda Flanagan ("Brenda"). Brenda had a young daughter named Alexis. During the course of the relationship, appellant took Brenda and Alexis to local parks and restaurants. State's witnesses testified that sometime around April, 1994, appellant took Alexis and Brenda to the Cleveland Motel on four separate occasions. Alexis was nine years old at the time of the motel visits. As part of its case in chief, the state called Alexis as a witness. She stated that on the first visit to the motel, she, Brenda and Eddy watched pornographic movies together. She testified that Brenda and Eddy smoked crack cocaine or other drugs in her presence. She averred that appellant inhaled smoke from his crack pipe and blew it directly into her mouth. She stated that -3- Eddy and Brenda had intercourse next to her and that she watched them. Alexis testified that on the three other trips to the motel the same things occurred. Additionally, Alexis stated that Eddy forced himself on her, penetrating her vaginally. She stated that Eddy forced her to perform fellatio on him and that he performed cunnilingus on her. She stated that he further sodomized her. She testified that on each occasion, appellant and Brenda told her that they would kill her if she revealed what happened. Appellant denied that any relationship with Brenda existed in 1994 and that the alleged visits to the motel with Alexis ever occurred. A Cuyahoga County Grand Jury entered an eight count indictment against Eddy. Eddy pleaded not guilty to the charges and exercised his right to a jury trial. The jury returned a guilty verdict on all eight counts. Appellant appeals and asserts one assignment of error which states: THE TRIAL COURT ERRED WHEN IT ENTERED JUDGMENT AGAINST APPELLANT WHEN THE CONVICTION WAS AGAINST THE MANIFEST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE. In State v. Mann, this court recited the standard of review for addressing a challenge based on the weight of the evidence. "The court, reviewing the entire record, weighs the evidence and all reasonable inferences, considers the credibility of witnesses and determines whether in resolving conflicts in the evidence, the jury clearly lost its way and created such a manifest miscarriage of justice that the conviction must be reversed and a new trial ordered. * * * See Tibbs v. Florida (1982), 457 U.S. 31, 38, 42 [102 S.Ct. 2211, 2216, 2218, 72 L.Ed.2d 652, 659, 661]." -4- State v. Mann (1993), 93 Ohio App.3d 301, 310, 638 N.E.2d 585, quoting, State v. Martin (1983), 20 Ohio App.3d 172, 175, 20 OBR 215, 219, 485 N.E.2d 717, 720. A reviewing court will not reverse a conviction where there is substantial evidence upon which the trier of fact could conclude reasonably that the elements of the offense were proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Mann, supra. The weight assigned to the evidence and its credibility are primarily for the trier of fact. State v. DeJohn (June 6, 1996), Cuyahoga App. No. 69297, unreported. A reviewing court may consider whether the evidence was credible, uncontradicted, reliable, or certain. State v. White (Jan. 4, 1996), Cuyahoga App. No. 68424, unreported. A reviewing court may consider whether a witness was impeached. Id. The record contains substantial evidence of appellant's guilt. The victim's testimony was clear and credible. Alexis recounted each trip to the Cleveland Motel. Her description of the motel was corroborated by the motel owner's testimony. Despite her young age, she described with specificity the various sexual abuses suffered at the hand of Eddy. She testified that Eddy blew smoke from a crack pipe into her mouth. She stated that Eddy allowed her to view pornographic movies. She averred that Eddy threatened to kill her if she ever revealed what he had done. The state presented the testimony of two medical doctors who examined Alexis. Both testified that the condition of her vagina was abnormal for a girl Alexis' age. Their examinations found her physical condition to be consistent with the alleged sexual abuses. -5- The state called Brenda pursuant to a plea arrangement. The plea bargain was explained to the jury at length by the trial judge. The jury was informed of the potentially self-serving nature of Brenda's testimony. Despite vigorous and effective cross examination, Brenda testified that she watched as the sexual abuses took place. She stated that Eddy viewed pornographic movies with Alexis, and that Eddy blew marijuana smoke directly into Alexis' mouth. Brenda testified that she and Eddy threatened Alexis. She stated that all these events occurred during the four visits to the Cleveland Motel. The state offered into evidence dated Cleveland Motel registration cards. Several of these cards indicated that Willie Eddy checked into the Cleveland Motel several times in March, April and May, 1994. The remaining cards indicated that Brenda checked into rooms during those months. The owner of the motel testified that he accepted only a picture identification card in order to check out a motel room. The state offered additional corroborating testimony. Viewed in toto, the proof offered by the state was overwhelming, consistent and credible. We do not find that the jury "lost its way" or that the conviction resulted in a "manifest miscarriage of justice". Rather, we find that the convictions are supported by substantial evidence in the record. Accordingly, we overrule appellant's assignment of error and affirm the convictions. -6- It is ordered that appellee recover of appellant its costs herein taxed. The court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal. It is ordered that a special mandate issue out of this court directing the Common Pleas Court to carry this judgment into execution. The defendant's conviction having been affirmed, any bail pending appeal is terminated. Case remanded to the trial court for execution of sentence. A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to Rule 27 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure. SWEENEY, JAMES D., P.J., and KARPINSKI, J., CONCUR. JOSEPH J. NAHRA JUDGE N.B. This entry is an announcement of the court's decision. See App.R. 22(B), 22(D) and 26(A); Loc.App.R. 27. This decision will be journalized and will become the judgment and order of the court pursuant to App.R. 22(E) unless a motion for reconsideration with supporting brief, per App.R. 26(A), is filed within ten (10) days of the announcement of the court's decision. The time period for review by the Supreme Court of Ohio shall begin to run upon the journalization of this court's announcement of decision by the .