Rodgers v. Commonwealth

OPINION

COMBS, Chief Judge.

Paul Rodgers appeals from his conviction of first-degree sexual abuse in Graves Circuit Court. After careful review of the record and the law, we are compelled to vacate and remand for a new trial.

Rodgers and Tammy Sawisch conceived a child, M.D., in 1996. Although she was born in 1997, Rodgers did not meet M.D. until the summer of 2005 when she was seven and one-half years of age. At that time, Rodgers and Sawisch rekindled their relationship, and Rodgers began spending time with his daughter. For a while, Rodgers lived in a tent in Sawisch’s back yard. On weekends,…