State v. Morrissey Jr.

Summary

The Montana Supreme Court affirmed Robert Lee Morrissey Jr.'s convictions for three counts of felony sexual assault, rejecting his contention that the evidence was insufficient to support Count I, the third ('standing') incident. Reviewing de novo, the court held that S.M.'s testimony that Morrissey's hand 'went to the same spot'—understood together with her earlier testimony about vaginal contact in a closely parallel incident—along with the shared location and the recurring 'dirty feeling,' permitted a rational jury to find knowing sexual contact beyond a reasonable doubt. The court emphasized that mens rea may be established by circumstantial evidence and that credibility determinations belong exclusively to the jury. No separate opinions were filed.