State vs. Matthew Douglas Cox

The appellant, Matthew Douglas Cox, appeals his convictions by a jury in the Knox County Criminal Court of two counts of aggravated rape and one count of incest. The trial court imposed concurrent sentences of twenty years incarceration in the Tennessee Department of Correction for the aggravated rape convictions and three years incarceration for the incest conviction. On appeal, the appellant presents the following issues for our review: (1) whether the evidence adduced at trial supports his convictions of aggravated rape and incest; (2) whether the trial court erroneously admitted into evidence a tape recording of the victim's 911 telephone call; (3) whether the trial court erred in effectively limiting defense counsel's cross-examination of the State's expert witness concerning the results of a DNA analysis of semen samples obtained from the victim; (4) whether the trial court erred in admitting into evidence testimony concerning the circumstances of the appellant's arrest; (5) whether the State committed prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument; and (6) whether the cumulative effect of these errors requires the reversal of the appellant's convictions. Following a review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm in part and reverse in part the judgments of the trial court.