People v. Dawsey

Defendant was convicted after a bench trial in Detroit Recorder’s Court of the offense of criminal sexual conduct in the first degree, MCLA 750.520b(l)(e); MSA 28.788(2)(l)(e). He was subsequently sentenced to a term of from 4 to 15 years in prison and now appeals as of right.

This case confronted the court below with the typical one-on-one confrontation problem in a rape case: whom does the trier of fact believe, the complainant or the defendant?

At trial, the complaining witness testified to the following facts: On June 17, 1975, at about 1 a.m., she was walking home from her girlfriend’s…