A-24-0480, State v. Belina (Appellant)
Madison County, District Court Judge Mark A. Johnson
Attorney for Appellant: Adam J. Sipple (Sipple Law)
Attorney for Appellee: Michael T. Hilgers and P. Christian Adamski (Attorney General’s Office)
Criminal Action: Direct Appeal Following A Jury Trial
Action Taken by Trial Court: Following a jury trial, the appellant was convicted of 2 counts of child abuse, 2 counts of third degree sexual assault, 1 count of attempted third degree sexual assault, and 3 counts of solicitation of a minor for prostitution and was sentenced thereon.
Assignments of Error on Appeal: The appellant assigns as error that (1) the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction of the third degree sexual assault of victim B.C.; (2) the district court erred in instructing the jury that “coercion” for the purposes of third degree sexual assault includes “economic force” or “moral force” without defining those terms; (3) that Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-320 (third degree assault) and Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-318(8)(a)(i) (defining “without consent”) are unconstitutionally vague as applied because they fail to define coercion; (4) the district court erred by refusing to instruct the jury that, for purposes of third degree sexual assault, persons over the age of 14 may consent to sexual contact; (5) the evidence was insufficient to support his 3 convictions for solicitation of a minor for prostitution; (6) the district court erred by failing to provide a limiting instruction after allowing, over objection, a therapist to testify to the details of C.K.’s “first report”; (7) the district court committed reversible error by overruling Belina’s objections and allowing 3 witnesses to give expert testimony validating the truth of C.K. and B.C.’s allegations; (8) trial counsel was ineffective in failing to object and or move to strike inadmissible testimony from B.C.’s therapist bolstering B.C.’s credibility; and (9) the district court erred in allowing the prosecutor to commit misconduct during closing arguments.