Stuart v. State

BARNES, Presiding Judge.

A jury convicted Zorie W. Stuart of rape, aggravated child molestation, and child molestation, and the trial court sentenced him to life in confinement. Stuart argues on appeal that the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury that statutory rape is a lesser included offense of rape. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

During the charge conference, the trial court reviewed each of Stuart’s requests to charge. In response to the court’s recitation of the *840requested charge “Lesser Offense, of Statutory Rape,”1 the State objected because the elements of proof…