STATE OF TENNESSEE v. SENTRELL PITTMAN - Articles

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STATE OF TENNESSEE v. SENTRELL PITTMAN

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jul 22, 2025

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: Phyllis Aluko, District Public Defender; Harry E. Sayle, III, Assistant District Public Defender (on appeal); Phoebe Gille and Glover Wright, Assistant Public Defenders (at trial), Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Sentrell Pittman.

Attorneys 2: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; Richard D. Douglas, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Steven J. Mulroy, District Attorney General; and Venecia Patterson, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): EASTER

Defendant, Sentrell Pittman, was indicted by the Shelby County Grand Jury for one count each of rape of a child, aggravated sexual battery, and rape. A jury convicted Defendant as charged, and following a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed an effective thirty- year sentence. Defendant appeals, arguing that: 1) the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions; 2) the trial court erred in denying Defendant’s motion to compel the victim to submit to a mental evaluation; 3) the trial court erred in denying Defendant’s motion to allow the jury to visit the scenes of the incidents; 4) the trial court erred in denying Defendant’s motion to dismiss the indictment based on the State’s violation of State v. Ferguson; and 5) the trial court erred in denying Defendant’s motion under Tennessee Rule of Evidence 412 seeking to allow cross-examination of the victim regarding her prior sexual history. Finding no error, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

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