State of Tennessee v. Fred Chad Clark, Ii

Summary

The Court affirmed the defendant’s convictions because his daughters’ testimony sufficiently corroborated his recorded admissions, the admissions were voluntary and did not implicate the Fifth Amendment, and any error in admitting adult-pornography evidence was harmless. The Court also held that the rape-of-a-child instructions correctly permitted conviction based on intentional, knowing, or reckless conduct, while any ambiguity in the aggravated-sexual-battery instructions was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. The Court recognized that the pornography evidence was improperly admitted and that the aggravated-sexual-battery instructions should have been more precise, but neither error warranted reversal.