Garnett v. State

Facts

At the time of the incident the Defendant attended school in the Montgomery County public school system. Cynthia Parker, a guidance counselor for the school system, described the Defendant as a mildly retarded person with an I.Q. of 52. The Defendant was able to read on a third grade level and do arithmetic on a fifth grade level. Furthermore, the Defendant interacted with other children in school at the level of someone who was 11 or 12 years old. As the Defendant was unable to pass any of the state functional tests required for graduation, he received only a certificate of attendance rather than a high school diploma. In November or December of 1990, a friend introduced the Defendant to Frazier. The two frequently spoke on the telephone. On the night of February 28, 1991, the Defendant came to Frazier’s house to call for a ride home. Frazier let the Defendant in through her bedroom window, where the two talked and later engaged in sexual intercourse. The Defendant was subseq uently tried on one count of second-degree rape under a statute proscribing intercourse between a person under 14 and another at least four years older than the complainant. At trial, the Defendant offered evidence that Frazier and her friends had previously told him that she was 16. The trial court, nevertheless, found the Defendant guilty and sentenced him to a term of five years in prison.