Lagana v. State

Smith, Judge.

Frank Lewis Lagaña III was charged with aggravated child molestation and statutory rape. A jury acquitted him on the child molestation charge and found him guilty of statutory rape. Lagaña appeals following the denial of his motion for new trial.

Lagaña, a heavy equipment operator, was employed by Jeff Hess to work on a construction project on Hess’s aunt’s farm. Hess had contracted with his relatives to clear a portion of the farmland so that chicken houses could be built. The victim, the 11-year-old granddaughter of the owners of the farm, claimed that she and Lagaña had sex one…