Commonwealth v. Rivera

The defendant was convicted, after a jury trial, of aggravated rape, G. L. c. 265, § 22(a ), rape, G. L. c. 265, § 22(b ), assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, G. L. c. 265, § 15A(b ), and assault and battery, G. L. c. 265, § 13A. He was acquitted on a charge of attempted murder, G. L. c. 265, § 16. He raises two issues on appeal. First, he argues that the trial judge abused his discretion by admitting the recording of the victim's 911 call under the spontaneous utterance exception to the hearsay rule. Relatedly, he contends that admission of the recording violated his State…