Hughes v. Commonwealth

As a member of the panel that first considered Caleb Hughes’s appeal, I voted to reverse his conviction on the ground that the evidence was insufficient to prove that he intended to defile the female child when he abducted her. See Hughes v. Commonwealth, 16 Va. App. 587, 602, 431 S.E.2d 906, 922 (1993). I am now persuaded that this view was incorrect. I erroneously concluded that, because the evidence did not exclude an intent by Hughes to commit acts against the child other than to defile her, the evidence was insufficient to prove the charged crime. I am now persuaded that by applying the…