State v. Barnes

With regard to the statutory rape conviction, defendant points out that one of the elements of statutory rape is that the defendant must be at least twelve years old and at least four years older than the victim. N.C.G.S. § 14-27.2(a)(1) (1986). Since the State has the burden of proving all elements of the crime, *540State v. Mize, 315 N.C. 285, 337 S.E. 2d 562 (1985), defendant questions the constitutionality of decisions from this Court permitting jurors to determine a defendant’s age based on their observations of the defendant. State v. Evans, 298 N.C. 263, 258 S.E. 2d 354 (1979); State v.…