After the Circuit Court of Loudoun County, Virginia, found defendant competent to stand trial, he pled guilty to aggravated sexual battery (Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-67.3). After he was sentenced, he filed a Va. Code Ann. § 19.2-296 motion to withdraw his plea, which was denied. He appealed.‍

Overview

‍Plaintiff claimed the trial court erred in finding him competent to stand trial and accepting his plea. The appellate court held that his failure to object to the trial court’s finding of competency and its acceptance of his plea before sentencing waived these objections. He claimed his motion to dismiss for want of jurisdiction should have been granted as the Commonwealth did not prove where the crimes took place or the ages of the victim and defendant. The appellate court disagreed because 1) under Va. Code Ann. § 17.1-513, he waived his right to contest venue by not doing so before pleading guilty; 2) as he pled guilty, he conceded that the trial court had jurisdiction and relieved the Commonwealth of any need to prove the elements of the crime. His motion to withdraw his guilty plea was properly denied as it was filed after sentencing and there was no evidence of a “manifest injustice” under § 19.2-296. The trial court did not err in prohibiting defendant, as condition of probation, from residing in a set geographical area around the victim’s house, which included the home of defendant’s parents; as the condition was aimed at protecting the victim, it was not unreasonable.

‍Outcome

‍The judgment was affirmed.