Grady W. Hailstock v. United States

THOMPSON, Associate Judge:

Following a bench trial, appellant Grady Hailstoek was convicted of one count of attempted misdemeanor sexual abuse (“MSA”) and one count of assault. In this appeal, he contends that the government (1) failed to prove that he possessed the requisite mental state and (2) also failed to prove that he came dangerously close to completing the offense of MSA, and thus did not meet its burden of proof as to “attempt.” In addition, he asserts that his simple assault and attempted MSA convictions merge and that one of the convictions therefore must be vacated. We affirm the…