Commonwealth v. LaFrennie

LaFrennie has appealed his conviction upon one of three counts alleging rape. His conviction for assault and battery was placed on file with LaFrennie’s consent. Trial took place in the Superior Court before a District Court judge (sitting by statutory authority) and a jury. A summary statement of circumstances, which the jury reasonably could have found, appears below.

LaFrennie, then about twenty-two years old, on Saturday, August 16, 1980, was driving in a borrowed automobile with Robert Johnson, then sixteen years old, and another young man named Barry, in Jaffrey, New Hampshire. About…