People v. Watson

OPINION OF THE COURT

Memorandum.

The order of the Appellate Division should be reversed, the convictions vacated and the indictment dismissed.

To sustain the conviction of rape in the first degree under the then applicable provisions of the Penal Law (§§ 130.35, 130.15), there must have been corroborative evidence, inter alia, of the element of "forcible compulsion”. The People urge three items of proof as meeting this requirement — evidence of prompt complaint, evidence of the complainant’s distraught emotional state immediately after the alleged assault, and *869evidence of bruises on the…