State v. Cosden

Defendant William Cosden, Jr., appeals from a conviction of first-degree rape under RCW 9.79.170, the relatively new rape statute. The principal issue on appeal is whether prejudicial error occurred when the trial court excluded evidence offered by the defendant that the complaining witness had engaged in sexual intercourse with another man approximately 4 days prior to the alleged rape. We hold the exclusion was not reversible error under the facts and circumstances of this case.

The facts concerning the alleged rape are as follows. Defendant and the complaining witness encountered one…