Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District / Date unavailable
State of Missouri vs. Dereck L. Turnage
Dereck L. Turnage appealed his conviction for first-degree statutory rape and his sentencing as a predatory sexual offender. He argued the trial court improperly excluded evidence of the victim's prior sexual relationship under the rape shield statute and that there was insufficient evidence to support his predatory sexual offender designation. The appellate court affirmed, finding no error in the evidence exclusion as the state did not rely on pregnancy for guilt and Turnage failed to show a relevant sexual relationship. The court also held that the predatory sexual offender statute requires only a prior finding of guilt for a named offense, irrespective of changes in the underlying conduct's definition.