Bakari was indicted by a Davidson
County grand jury in 2008 and was accused of raping an ex-girlfriend’s daughter
and nephew in 2002 and 2003 while he lived with the family. Bakari allegedly
told police the allegations were not true and stemmed from his ex-girlfriend’s
“jealousy.”
Bakari was first tried in August
2009, but the jury could not reach a verdict and the court declared a mistrial.
Bakari was tried again in December 2009, convicted of attempted rape of a child
and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
On appeal, Bakari argued that
Davidson County Criminal Judge J. Randall Wyatt Jr. erred by (1) allowing a
State witness to testify about “delayed disclosure” in child sexual abuse
cases; (2) allowing a police detective to give testimony suggesting the
appellant was uncooperative during the investigation; (3) allowing the State to
introduce a photograph of the victims into evidence; and (4) allowing the
prosecutor during rebuttal closing argument to give personal examples in an
attempt to vouch for the victims’ credibility.
For example, prosecutor Kristen
Menke was allowed “to give personal examples in an attempt to vouch for the
victims’ credibility,” stating in part that the children should not be expected
to perfectly recall “something that happened half of their lifetime ago,” when
she couldn’t remember every sexual encounter she’d had with her own husband in
the past year.
The Court ultimately agreed with
the defense, ruling that the trial court erred by allowing a witness to testify
about “delayed disclosure,” by allowing a police detective to give testimony
suggesting the appellant was uncooperative during the investigation, and by
allowing the prosecutor to give personal examples in an attempt to vouch for
the victims’ credibility. The Court concluded that the cumulative effect of the
errors warrants reversal of the appellant’s conviction and remanded the case to
the trial court for a new trial.
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