Rutherford County, TN – A man convicted of aggravated rape in a Rutherford County jury trial has filed an appeal. Marco Luciano Cianfarani, who was also convicted on three counts of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon claimed evidence was insufficient to support his aggravated rape and aggravated assault convictions. He also contended the trial court erred in permitting the testimony of a witness who the defense received late notice from.

The female victim told the courts she dated the defendant for approximately five months and the rape occurred when she went to his residence to retrieve her belongings. She testified Cianfarani slammed her to the ground, choked her and then lifted her to the bed, which was when the rape occurred. She also recalled telling the 28-year-old to stop and stated, “I do not want this.” According to court documents, the defendant stopped after about 10-seconds.

At trial, the Defendant claimed he did indeed commit domestic assault, but did not rape the victim. Jurors believed otherwise and convicted him accordingly. However, Cianfarani's appeal shows he believes the trial court mistakenly instructed jurors to continue deliberating after being notified one juror disagreed with the other eleven.

The Appeals Court agreed with the Rutherford County Trial Court, as seen in the recent filing by the Appellate Court Clerk on October 6, 2023. Cianfarani will remain behind bars for his previously imposed sentence of twenty years in prison.