Commonwealth v. Lavalley

Liacos, CJ.

The defendant, Keith J. Lavalley, was convicted by a jury of rape and sentenced to a term of twenty years at Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Concord. The defendant appealed his conviction. We transferred the appeal to this court on our own motion. The defendant claims that the judge erred in allowing the jury to view and hear a videotape recording of a statement made by the victim to the police shortly after the incident. We conclude that the use of the videotape as evidence of fresh complaint was not prejudicial to the defendant. We also reject the defendant’s argument…