104 results for 'cat:"Evidence" AND cat:"Sex Offender" AND cat:"Child Victims"'.
J. Harrison finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for two counts of rape. The state presented evidence that defendant had adopted his wife’s daughter when she was 12 years old and began sexually abusing her. The abuse progressed to intercourse and continued until the child was 17. Defendant’s assertions, that the evidence is insufficient without forensic or physical evidence to support the victim’s allegations, were not preserved for review. His questions regarding credibility, alleging that the 12-year-old victim had been the aggressor, forcing or intimidating him into having sex with her, are also not preserved. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Harrison, Filed On: October 18, 2023, Case #: CR-22-516, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
[Consolidated.] J. Golemon finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for continuous sexual abuse of a child and sexual assault of a child. A victim testified that her stepfather started molesting her when she was 11, and that when she was 16, she told her grandmother about the abuse. She also testified that he sexually abused her sister. All evidence supports the conviction. Defendant opened the door to the admissibility of a video showing him assault the victims’ brother when he, representing himself, questioned the victim about why she did not tell authorities about anything other than sexual acts occurring at the house. Defendant’s objections at trial do not comport with his arguments on appeal and the issues are not preserved. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Golemon, Filed On: October 18, 2023, Case #: 09-22-00429-CR, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
J. Barrett finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for the rape of his eight-year-old daughter who, after a lesson on personal safety at her school, reported ongoing abuse. Evidence obtained through forensic interview and medical examination, including DNA evidence, supports the conviction. After deliberating, the jury sent a note saying that the vote was 11–1. Both the prosecutor and defense counsel agreed to the court’s sending a note back asking the jury to continue deliberation, which then returned a unanimous guilty verdict, confirmed by polling. No motion for mistrial was made. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Barrett, Filed On: October 18, 2023, Case #: CR-22-674, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
J. Smith finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for sex trafficking of a child. Defendant met the 16-year-old victim online and invited her to smoke marijuana. He checked her into an extended stay hotel after she complained of her home life, so he kept her drunk and high, had sex with her and “pimped” her out. She left the hotel and told her mother of being trafficked. Forensic evidence and evidence from a police lineup support the conviction. The jury did not need expert testimony to interpret electronically extracted evidence taken from defendant’s cell phone. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Smith, Filed On: October 13, 2023, Case #: 22-10316, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
J. Kemp finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for multiple counts of rape, sexual assault and sexual indecency with five victims between the ages of eight and 11, sentencing him to two life terms in prison. Forensic interview and examination of the victims supports the convictions. Statements made by one of the victims to a family friend about her parents trading the victims for sex and drugs and about the alleged sexual conduct between the girls, their father and their brother are highly inflammatory and outweigh any probative value regarding the victims’ sexual propensities. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court, Judge: Kemp, Filed On: October 12, 2023, Case #: CR-22-461, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
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J. Ceresia finds that defendant was improperly convicted of coercing his girlfriend's 13-year-old daughter into "flashing" her breasts to him because the indictment charged defendant with coercing the girl into sending him explicit photos, which was not an element of the alleged interaction. However, defendant was properly convicted of sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child. Revesrsed in part.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Ceresia, Filed On: October 12, 2023, Case #: 113217, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
[Consolidated.] J. Horton finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for indecent sexual acts with a child. Defendant was a longtime friend of the eight-year-old girl’s family before other family members noticed that she behaved nervously around him. When asked about this behavior, the child told many family members of various types of sexual abuse perpetrated by defendant. Forensic interview corroborated the necessarily detailed stories. The jury was free to believe or disbelieve the various testimonies and the appellate court will not reweigh the evidence. No abuse of discretion is found. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Horton, Filed On: October 11, 2023, Case #: 09-22-00230-CR, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
Per curiam, the appellate court finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for continuous sexual abuse of his 10-year-old daughter. All evidence, including forensic examiner testimony that the child had been vaginally and anally penetrated support the conviction. Defendant’s mother testified that she observed inappropriate behavior and was thrown out of the house when she confronted him. The victim’s half-sister testified that defendant began touching her when she was in elementary school, eventually having intercourse with her and impregnating her when she was 14 and giving her abortion pills. Counsel’s motion to withdraw is granted. Affirmed as modified.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: October 6, 2023, Case #: 12-22-00240-CR, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
J. Clark finds defendant's conviction for risk of injury to a child was supported by sufficient evidence, including the 3-year-old victim's claim he touched and hurt her vagina and buttocks, as well as the mother's testimony the victim appeared scared when she returned home and had a shiny substance on her vagina, which corresponded to an empty jar of Vaseline in the home. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Clark, Filed On: October 5, 2023, Case #: AC45243, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
J. Kamins finds the trial court properly admitted testimony describing a three-year-old sexual abuse victim’s statements to his parents and to a physician during a medical examination conducted shortly after the sexual abuse. The child’s statements to the doctor “were duplicative of and corroborated by his identical statements to his parents, who described the statements at trial without objection.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Kamins, Filed On: October 4, 2023, Case #: A177244, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
J. Wheelock affirms the district court's denial of the defendant's motion to exclude his therapist's report and testimony, and finds that it did not abuse its discretion in excluding the defendant's evidence regarding the phase of the moon at the time he had sex with a babysitter, who he claims was 18 at the time, and a related text message exchange. While the babysitter was 18 at the time his therapist reported suspected maltreatment, Minnesota's mandated-reporter statute requires that therapists make maltreatment reports if they have reason to believe that a child has been maltreated while still a minor, regardless of whether the child has since reached the age of minority. Any error in the exclusion of the defendant's evidence was harmless. Affirmed.
Court: Minnesota Court Of Appeals, Judge: Wheelock, Filed On: September 18, 2023, Case #: A22-1349, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
Per curiam, the Twelfth District finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for aggravated sexual assault of a child. Defendant’s daughter caught her father in that act of performing oral sex on her 13-year-old son. She instructed him not to shower and took him to the hospital the next morning. Though she lost custody of her children, her corroborated testimony and forensic evidence support the conviction. No reversible error is found. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: September 6, 2023, Case #: 12-22-00117-CR, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
J. Brown finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for the rape of his daughter. The 12-year-old reported to her school counsellor that she was having suicidal ideations, which led to a medical evaluation during which she reported abuse occurring from her father's insisting on helping her bathe. Videos found in defendant's possession, showing an older man coaxing a younger girl into showing off her body and then into sexual intercourse, and two minors engaged in multiple sexual acts with a much older man were properly introduced to show his proclivity toward younger females. All evidence supports conviction. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Brown , Filed On: September 6, 2023, Case #: CR-22-286, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
J. Thyer finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for the rape of his 12-year-old daughter. The minor child told her aunt about the father's digitally penetrating her vagina on a camping trip as well as his punishing of her when she resisted him. After the aunt confronted her brother, she took the child to give a statement to police. All evidence supports the conviction. An email defendant sent his wife from jail, stating, "hopefully they dont actually charge me with rape or i will get some serious time, hopefully i get to see ya tomorrow so i can wreck that booty hole...", though open to interpretation, was properly admitted as the jury's responsibility to determine. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Thyer , Filed On: September 6, 2023, Case #: CR-22-612, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
J. Wood finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for rape and sexual assault of his 7-year-old granddaughter. The child had stayed with her grandparents for some time before her parents began noticing that she did not want to leave their sides and had begun to experience pain or difficulty urinating, as well as bed-wetting. After defendant claimed that he removed a tick from the girl's private area, she explained that he had touched her several times. The child's testimony that defendant touched her “privates” multiple times provides substantial evidence of sexual gratification sufficient to support the convictions. The weight of testimony concerning access to defendant's computer, which contained searches for “does masturbation cause precocious puberty” and “precocious erotic stories" was properly left to the jury to decide. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Wood , Filed On: September 6, 2023, Case #: CR-22-224, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
J. Carpenter finds the trial court erroneously denied defendant's motion to dismiss indecent liberties with a child charges. There was insufficient evidence to support all three charges, given the testimony established defendant kissed the victim once outside his van and then again after the two were inside the vehicle. Therefore, one of defendant's convictions will be vacated and the case will be remanded for resentencing. Reversed in part.
Court: North Carolina Court of Appeals, Judge: Carpenter, Filed On: September 5, 2023, Case #: COA22-822, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
J. Neeley finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for sexual assault of his 16-year-old niece. Though defendant’s mother told police that her son confessed and “repented,” but that she doesn’t think he is guilty, and the victim’s mother testified that she doesn’t believe her daughter’s allegations in spite of the confession, a forensic interviewer testified that the victim is believable. Because defendant testified that the victim lied, his credibility was at issue, and his immigration status was relevant as a possible motive for lying. The state presented strong evidence of guilt, including the victim’s and her mother’s testimony that defendant apologized for the assault. Defendant also fails to demonstrate a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s errors, the result would have been different. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Neeley, Filed On: September 1, 2023, Case #: 12-22-00148-CR, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
J. Harrison finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for the rape of a three-year-old girl. The child’s older sister and mother testified that when they were staying with the mother’s sister, the victim stated that her private area hurt and that defendant, who lived with the sister, “scratched” her there. Forensic examination and interview confirmed injuries around and within the girl’s vagina as well as the consistency of her story. All evidence supports conviction. Defendant’s arguments have not been preserved for review and cite no authority. Counsel's motion to withdraw based on a “no-merit” appeal is granted. Certain illegally assessed costs are modified, as well as counsel’s characterization of the appeal as without merit. An attack on an illegal sentence is not a no-merit appeal. Affirmed as modified.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Harrison, Filed On: August 30, 2023, Case #: CR-22-179, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
J. Pickering finds the trial court properly convicted defendant of several counts of lewdness and sexual assault of the 10-year-old daughter of a family friend. During a period when the family struggled with homelessness, defendant allowed them to stay in his motel room, during which he forced the child to fellate him, and penetrated her vaginally and anally with his penis, fingers, and a Sharpie pen. A child victim's testimony is sufficient for conviction if the testimony has accurate detail, and the jury found the witnesses credible and the testimony convincing. The state did not dwell on erroneously admitted evidence, and the instructional error as to lewdness was not material. Affirmed in part.
Court: Nevada Supreme Court, Judge: Pickering , Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 83316, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
J. Kelly finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 120 months in prison after a jury found him guilty on three counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor, committing a felony sex offense against a minor while required to register as a sex offender, and tampering with a witness. The defendant argued that the lower court erred in dismissing his motion for acquittal for lack of evidence. However, the government provided sufficient evidence in court that the defendant's mother, who is the grandmother of the abused child, disclosed that she was "being pressured" to help him get out of jail by asking his minor victim to recant her claims, which was recorded on jail house phone conversations between both parties. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Kelly, Filed On: August 3, 2023, Case #: 22-2176, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
Per curiam, the appeals court finds the trial court properly denied defendant’s motion for postconviction scientific testing on his conviction for aggravated sexual assault of a child and sentence of 51 years in prison. The state has no physical evidence subject to DNA testing. There was no physical evidence admitted at trial, and defendant was convicted upon witness testimony, medical records and expert opinion related to the medical records. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: July 31, 2023, Case #: 12-22-00275-CR, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
Per curiam, the Fifth Circuit finds the Texas state trial court properly convicted defendant for aggravated sexual assault of his four-year-old daughter, sentencing him to life in prison. The judge refused to admit evidence of another assault on the girl by the mother’s boyfriend on the grounds that it did not disprove the claims against defendant. He then failed to establish materiality before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Though some evidence suggests a refused police report may have been material, the Fifth Circuit can only grant defendant’s petition for habeas corpus if all fair-minded jurists would disagree with the Texas appeals court’s decision. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: July 21, 2023, Case #: 22-40217, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
Per curiam, the Fifth Circuit finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for sexually abusing a minor, sentencing him to life in prison. The 14-year-old victim reported abuse that she had kept secret since she was 11 after protective services sought to determine paternity of her son during a drug-based investigation of the home due to her fear that the father — her mother’s boyfriend — might obtain custodial rights. All evidence and witness testimony supports conviction. The court’s limiting of exhibits consisting of Facebook posts made between 2005 and 2021 did not violate the confrontation clause, as potential confusion or repetitive or marginally relevant interrogation outweighed probative effect. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: July 20, 2023, Case #: 22-50078, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
J. Rodriguez finds a lower court ruled correctly in convicting defendant on two counts of sexually assaulting a child. Defendant argued that a 911 call by the victim concerning her desire to commit suicide was improperly admitted into evidence and was prejudicial towards him, but because the call never mentioned the sexual assault allegations, it “could not have aroused hostility toward [defendant] unless the jury already tended to believe” the other evidence against him, as prosecutors argued. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: July 20, 2023, Case #: 08-22-00209-CR, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims
J. King finds the district court properly denied defendant’s habeas petition from his state conviction for aggravated sexual assault of a child under the age of six. After the child complained to his mother of pain from defendant’s “[putting] a stick in his bottom,” his pediatrician reported the abuse. Defendant’s argument that expert testimony as to children’s truthfulness, which he says is impermissible, is unconvincing. All evidence supports conviction and it is unlikely that defendant would have been acquitted absent the challenged testimony. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: King, Filed On: July 7, 2023, Case #: 21-20579, Categories: evidence, sex Offender, child Victims