State v. Denzel Lafayette
Annotate this Case
In Vermont, the defendant, Denzel Lafayette, was charged with sexual assault, sexual exploitation by luring a child, and carrying a weapon while committing a felony. The case revolved around an incident in which Lafayette had sexual intercourse with a 15-year old girl, whom he had been communicating with on Facebook. Lafayette had also allegedly shown her a firearm during their encounter.
The jury found Lafayette guilty of sexual assault and carrying a weapon while committing a felony. On appeal, Lafayette argued that the evidence was insufficient to support the convictions and that the trial court committed an error by not instructing the jury that it had to find that the carrying of the gun was related to the sexual assault.
The Vermont Supreme Court disagreed with Lafayette's claims. The court found that the victim's testimony provided sufficient evidence for the jury to find Lafayette guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of sexual assault. It further held that the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction for carrying a weapon while committing a felony, as the gun had the potential to facilitate the sexual assault. The court also found no error in the jury instruction, as the relationship between the carrying of the weapon and the sexual assault was self-evident. Therefore, the court affirmed both of Lafayette's convictions.
However, the court agreed with Lafayette's contention that certain probation conditions were overbroad and unduly restrictive. The court remanded the case to the trial court to strike one probation condition and to make findings, modify, or strike portions of two other challenged conditions.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.