New Trial Ordered; Gift of Candy Cited

A state appeals court has ordered a new trial for a man accused of raping a 10-year-old girl because the judge in the case may have influenced the jury at his first trial by giving the victim a bag of jellybeans.

The state’s 4th Circuit Court of Appeal overturned Nathaniel Cook’s 1984 aggravated rape conviction. Cook was accused of raping his former girlfriend’s 10-year-old daughter.

In its 3-0 ruling last week, the court ruled that Judge Miriam Waltzer should not have given the candy to the child in view of the jury. Jurors could have considered the action as a judge’s comment on the truthfulness of the child’s testimony, the court said.