State v. Williams, Ricky

THIS OPINION HAS NO
PRECEDENTIAL VALUE.  IT SHOULD NOT BE CITED OR RELIED ON AS PRECEDENT IN ANY
PROCEEDING EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY RULE 268(d)(2), SCACR.

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

In The Court of Appeals

The State, Respondent,

v.

Ricky B.
Williams, Appellant.

Appeal From Sumter County

George C. James, Jr., Circuit Court Judge

Unpublished Opinion No. 2010-UP-471

Submitted October 1, 2010 – Filed October
28, 2010   

AFFIRMED

Appellate Defender Elizabeth A.
Franklin-Best, of Columbia, for Appellant.

Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief
Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Salley
W. Elliott, and Assistant Attorney General Julie M. Thames, all of Columbia; and
Solicitor C. Kelly Jackson, of Sumter, for Respondent.

PER CURIAM: Ricky
B. Williams appeals his first-degree burglary conviction.  On appeal, Williams
argues the trial court abused its
discretion by allowing expert witnesses' testimony regarding the victim's
post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis and subsequent treatment the victim received
to treat her mental health issues resulting from the alleged criminal sexual
conduct.   We affirm[1] pursuant to Rule 220(b)(1),
SCACR, and the following authorities: Rule 403, SCRE (providing relevant evidence is admissible unless "its
probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice,
confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury, or by considerations of undue
delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence"); State
v. White, 361
S.C. 407, 415, 605 S.E.2d 540, 544 (2004) (holding any prejudice caused by rape
trauma evidence does not outweigh its probative value when the "purpose of
admitting rape trauma evidence [is] to refute the defendant's contention
that the sex was consensual and to prove that a sexual offense occurred"); State
v. Schumpert, 312 S.C. 502, 506, 435 S.E.2d 859, 861-62 (1993) (finding rape
trauma evidence "admissible where its probative value outweighs its prejudicial effect");  State
v. Alexander, 303 S.C. 377, 381, 401
S.E.2d 146, 149 (1991) (finding evidence
of a victim's mental trauma and behavioral and personality changes is relevant
to prove the elements of criminal sexual conduct because such evidence makes it
"more or less probable that the offense occurred").

AFFIRMED.

WILLIAMS,
PIEPER, and KONDUROS, JJ., concur.

[1] We decide this case without oral argument pursuant to
Rule 215, SCACR.