State Tennessee v. John C. Willis

The appellant was convicted of the aggravated rape of his ten year old niece and received a sentence of twenty years in the state penitentiary as a Range I, standard offender. The appellant has presented four issues on appeal, one of which challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence. The appellant is the stepbrother of the victim's father. During the summer of 1985, he went to live with the victim's family. One evening during that summer she was sleeping on the sofa. According to her testimony, the appellant rubbed her breasts and vaginal area with his hands and slightly penetrated her vagina with his penis. He also attempted to force her to perform fellatio on him, but she thwarted his efforts by clenching her teeth.