State v. Ahearn

In State v. Ahearn, 307 N.C. 584, 603, 300 S.E.2d 689, 701 (1983), our Supreme Court sustained a finding of an aggravating factor that a 24-month-old victim was very young in a felonious child abuse case. The Court reasoned that, "the abused child may be vulnerable due to its tender age, and vulnerability is clearly the concern addressed by this factor." Id. Thus, without the need for any special showing by the prosecution that the victim was vulnerable, the victim's vulnerability was established simply by the victim's especially tender age and the nature of the crime.