Velazquez v. Commonwealth

In this appeal of a conviction for rape, we consider whether the trial court erred in permitting a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) to testify regarding her expert medical opinion on the causation of the victim’s injuries and, if not, whether that testimony improperly invaded the province of the jury.

BACKGROUND

Under well established principles, we review the evidence and the reasonable inferences arising therefrom in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, the party prevailing below. Turner v. Commonwealth, 259 Va. 645, 648, 529 S.E.2d 787, 789 (2000). The fifteen-year-old female…