Commonwealth of Virginia v. Donnell

Commonwealth of Virginia v. Donnell was a 1992 criminal case from Virginia in which Lee Roy Donnell was convicted on one count of sexual battery for the sexual assault of his daughter when she was 13 years old. His daughter, Lisa Shogren, repressed the memories for years before seeking therapy. Donnell "entered an Alford plea, in which he did not admit guilt but said there was potentially enough evidence to convict him." In an alford plea the defense pleads guilty based upon the grounds that there is significant enough evidence against them that a jury would be convinced of their guilt beyond reasonable doubt, though they still maintain that they are not admitting actual guilt. The evidence which precipitated Donnell's Alford plea therefore constitutes significant enough corroborating evidence that the defense themselves thought that a jury would be convinced of Donnell's guilt (“Father Guilty of Assault").