Abunaaj v. Commonwealth

FITZPATRICK, Chief Judge.

Yazid Abunaaj (appellant) was convicted in a jury trial of rape in violation of Code § 18.2-61 and animate object sexual penetration in violation of Code § 18.2-67.2. On appeal, he contends the trial court erred in: (1) admitting a tape recording of a telephone conversation he had with the victim; (2) giving insufficient cautionary instructions and rulings regarding alleged pretrial offers of payment to potential witnesses; (3) allowing testimony that appellant was HIV-positive; and (4) refusing to grant surrebuttal testimony. For the following reasons, we reverse the…