The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal has upheld the conviction of a Lake Charles man who sexually assaulted a woman on Halloween in 2009. 

Robert N. Green was convicted of simple rape in 2010 and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. 

Green, who was 47 at the time, and his 17-year-old victim worked at a local fast-food restaurant. The victim said Green provided her with alcohol during her lunch break and asked for a ride home when their shift was over.

Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Dustan Abshire said video surveillance showed the pair stopping at a gas station and buying more alcohol before driving off in a truck belonging to the victim’s father.

The victim testified the pair consumed the alcohol and drove to Green’s cousin’s house and visited for about 20 minutes. During the visit, the victim said, she had another drink and gave Green the keys to drive her home.

She said she blacked out in the back seat and awoke to find Green raping her in his bedroom. She said both she and Green were nude. 

The teenager said Green gave her some of his clothing to wear because she had vomited on her own, and then he drove her home. She was later examined at a hospital and had a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent. 

In his appeal, Green claimed the evidence was insufficient to prove rape and lack of consent because of intoxication. The court ruled the testimonies of the victim and the nurse who examined her proved she was assaulted. 

“Since Green was with the victim the entire time and provided the victim with her first two drinks, the evidence was sufficient to prove he knew or should have known of the victim’s incapacity,” the appeals court ruled.

The court also disagreed with Green’s claim that the trial court erred when it allowed the prosecution to exclude a black man as a juror in the case.

The juror was stricken because during questioning he expressed “specific biases against young girls of today, stating that they are wild, aren’t raised properly, don’t dress properly, and flirt with older men. He also indicated a view that black males do not get a fair break in the penal system,” the court found.

The court also denied Green’s claims of excessive sentence, noting that Green is a second-time offender and was convicted in 1979 of one count of attempted aggravated rape and one count of aggravated burglary.

“Green’s prior sexual history along with the age difference suggested that Green took advantage of someone who was extremely vulnerable.”

(Source: MGN Online)