Gbenga Afolabi v. State of Indiana

── Gbenga Afolabi v. State of Indiana ── Court: Indiana Court of Appeals Date: April 15, 2026 Author: DeBoer Category: General IN THE Court of Appeals of Indiana FILED Gbenga Afolabi, Apr 15 2026, 8:39 am Appellant-Defendant CLERK Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals and Tax Court v. State of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff April 15, 2026 Court of Appeals Case No. 24A-CR-3081 Appeal from the Marion Superior Court The Honorable Angela Dow Davis, Judge Trial Court Cause No. 49D27-2111-F5-35434 Opinion by Judge Weissmann Judges Bradford and DeBoer concur. Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-3081 | April 15, 2026 Page 1 of 31  Weissmann, Judge. [1] Gbenga Afolabi was working as a prison guard at the Indiana Women’s Prison when he was accused of forcing multiple inmates to engage in sexual conduct with him. After a jury trial, Afolabi was convicted of two counts of rape, one count of attempted rape, five counts of sexual misconduct, three counts of official misconduct, and two counts of intimidation. Afolabi appeals these convictions, arguing that the trial court abused its discretion in making certain procedural and evidentiary decisions. He also challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support one of his rape convictions and claims some of his other convictions violate the prohibition against substantive double jeopardy. [2] One of these arguments prevails but only in part. Applying the three-step substantive double jeopardy analysis that our Supreme Court enunciated in Wadle v. State, 151 N.E.3d 227 (Ind. 2020), we find Afolabi’s dual convictions for the rape and intimidation of one of his victims gives rise to a presumption of double jeopardy that the State fails to rebut. We therefore remand for the trial court to vacate Afolabi’s intimidation conviction as to that victim and its corresponding current sentence. We otherwise affirm. Facts [3] In 2021, Afolabi was employed as a correctional officer with the Indiana Department of Correction, working night shifts at the Indiana Women’s Prison (IWP). During the spring and summer of 2021, three IWP inmates—identified Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-3081 | April 15, 2026 Page 2 of 31  as J.M., M.A., and L.B.—alleged that Afolabi forced them to engage in sexual conduct with him while he was acting in his official capacity as a correctional officer.1 [4] The first inmate, M.A., arrived at IWP in March 2021. M.A. was housed on a unit where Afolabi worked, and Afolabi soon began making “flirty to sexual comments” to M.A. about her hair, buttocks, and breasts. Tr. Vol. III, p. 160. Not long thereafter, Afolabi started asking to see various parts of M.A.’s body, including her genitals. M.A. initially “laughed it off and didn’t think [Afolabi] was serious.” Id. at 162. But Afolabi began issuing M.A. disciplinary reports that she believed could impact her release date. M.A. therefore began complying with his requests to see parts of her body. [5] In early May 2021, Afolabi requested that M.A. perform