JOHN VINCENT ESTES Missouri Cases

John Vincent Estes appealed his conviction for statutory rape, asserting the trial court erred by allowing propensity witness testimony and by excluding evidence of the victim's prior sexual conduct under the rape shield statute. The appellate court found no abuse of discretion in the admission of the propensity evidence. However, it determined that the exclusion of evidence suggesting the victim's motive to fabricate, though unpreserved, constituted plain error affecting Estes's substantial right to a fair trial. Consequently, the court vacated the conviction and remanded the case for a new trial with instructions to admit the excluded evidence.