Opinion ID: 4471395
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: Joshua Dady was charged with first degree sexual assault after he admitted to police that he had sex with M.J., a 10-yearold girl. While Dady was 18 years old and within 4 days of their meeting, Dady engaged in vaginal intercourse with M.J. Dady was charged under § 28-319(1)(b). Section 28-319(1) makes it a crime for “[a]ny person [to subject] another person to sexual penetration . . . (b) who knew or should have known that the victim was mentally or physically incapable of resisting or appraising the nature of his or her conduct[.]” Following a jury trial, Dady was convicted and sentenced to 20 to 25 years’ imprisonment. Dady appeals. Dady first met and talked with M.J. for approximately an hour after she exited a schoolbus a few blocks from her home - 652 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 304 Nebraska Reports STATE v. DADY Cite as 304 Neb. 649 on a Thursday or Friday afternoon. M.J. testified that Dady told her he was 16 years old and that she told Dady she was 10 years old. M.J.’s stepfather saw M.J. and Dady talking and introduced himself and then walked M.J. into the house. When M.J.’s stepfather noticed Dady following everyone into the home, he told Dady to leave. M.J.’s stepfather also asked Dady if he knew how old M.J. was, and Dady said no. He then told Dady that M.J. was 10 years old. M.J. later encountered Dady while she was walking her dog. M.J. testified that they discussed “YouTubers” for an unknown length of time. M.J. testified she thought that she and Dady “hung out” again later in the day on a Saturday. M.J.’s mother testified that M.J. came to her on that Saturday and asked to go to a mall with Dady. M.J.’s mother told M.J. she could not go to the mall with Dady because she did not know him. On the morning of Sunday, August 20, 2017, M.J. met up with Dady for about an hour, then went home for lunch and to clean her room. After lunch, M.J. returned to Dady’s house and sat on the curb. After approximately 5 minutes, Dady invited M.J. to sit by a fence in the yard. Dady asked M.J. if she had a boyfriend and then suggested to M.J. that they should have sex. M.J. testified that she had originally said no, but then agreed after Dady offered to give her an “MP3 player.” M.J. and Dady began kissing. Dady then pulled down his shorts and put a condom on. M.J. testified that she knew what a condom was but had not seen one before and did not know what Dady meant when he said, “‘We can’t let this go to waste now.’” Dady then pulled down M.J.’s pants and pulled M.J. on top of him. M.J. testified that Dady’s pulling her on top of him was not forced. M.J.’s statements to medical personnel and her testimony at trial were that she knew what sex was and that she willingly engaged in sex with Dady. Neighbors saw M.J. pull down her pants and attempt to sit on Dady’s lap. They ran outside and confronted M.J. and Dady. M.J. and Dady both stood up and pulled their pants up as the neighbors approached. M.J. testified that she asked Dady to - 653 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 304 Nebraska Reports STATE v. DADY Cite as 304 Neb. 649 “‘[p]romise not to tell’” what happened. The neighbors told M.J.’s stepfather and then informed Dady’s foster father of what they had seen. The neighbors testified they had seen Dady and M.J. “hanging out” earlier in the day when M.J. was riding around the neighborhood on a “bike [with] flowers on it.” M.J.’s stepfather called M.J. home. When M.J. arrived home, she went to her room and would not speak with either her stepfather or her mother. M.J.’s mother then called the 911 emergency dispatch service. M.J. was taken to a child advocacy center and then to a hospital to be examined by a sexual assault nurse. Police, responding to the 911 call, interviewed M.J.’s mother and then went to Dady’s foster home. Dady and his foster father came outside and spoke with the police. Dady admitted to police that he had sexually penetrated M.J.’s vagina and that he was 18 years old. The police placed Dady under arrest, and he was taken to a police station for an interview. Police obtained consent from Dady’s foster father to search the yard and the home. Police found a condom wrapper in the yard and a used condom in a trash can in Dady’s bedroom. During the interview with police, Dady claimed M.J. told him that she was 16 or 17 years old and that she was going to be a freshman in high school. Dady initially denied that his penis penetrated M.J.’s vagina, but later stated that a small portion of his penis went inside M.J.’s vagina. Dady also told police that he put his finger in M.J.’s vagina, but that she told him to stop because it was hurting her. Dady also told police that he put his penis in M.J.’s mouth for a “millisecond.” Dady said M.J. told him on the day of the incident that her mother says she is 10 years old, but that she is a freshman in high school and was about to turn 16 years old. At the end of the interview, when asked how old he thought M.J. looked, Dady admitted she looked 10 or 11 years old. Susan Kelly, an emergency room pediatrician, testified concerning M.J.’s visit to the emergency room on the night of the incident. Kelly testified that M.J. or M.J.’s mother relayed that M.J. had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity - 654 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 304 Nebraska Reports STATE v. DADY Cite as 304 Neb. 649 disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD). This was done while Kelly was ascertaining M.J.’s medical history for the purpose of treating her in the emergency room. Dady objected on the ground of hearsay and was overruled. Kelly explained the various stages of cognitive development of children and testified that a normal 10-year-old’s brain has not fully developed the ability to assess risk and control impulses. Kelly further testified as to how diagnoses of ADHD and ODD can affect a person’s ability to control impulses. On crossexamination, Kelly testified that her impressions of M.J.’s ability to understand the nature of sex were based upon her time spent with M.J., M.J.’s past diagnoses, and the general categorization of a 10-year-old’s capacity. When asked to give further support for her conclusion that M.J. was not capable of appraising the nature of sex, Kelly testified that M.J. did not know when her last period occurred. Further, Kelly testified that when she asked M.J. if a condom was used in the incident, M.J. responded, “‘I think so.’” Additional evidence of M.J.’s mental health diagnoses was presented through the testimony of the forensic interviewer who saw M.J. at the child advocacy center. She testified that ADHD, ODD, and DMDD can affect emotional stability and impulse control. She indicated the severity of each of these conditions can vary based on the individual. She admitted that she is not licensed to diagnose these conditions; however, she stated that it is important for an interviewer to know a child’s mental health diagnoses in order to tailor the interview to the child. She testified that M.J. appeared to be a developmentally normal 10-year-old and indicated that no formal testing of cognitive ability was done. M.J.’s mother testified that M.J. has had behavioral and mental health issues since she was approximately 4 years old. M.J.’s mother testified that M.J. had been diagnosed with ADHD, ODD, and DMDD. Dady objected on grounds of foundation and hearsay and was overruled. On cross-examination, - 655 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 304 Nebraska Reports STATE v. DADY Cite as 304 Neb. 649 Dady elicited testimony from M.J.’s mother that the diagnoses had come from M.J.’s doctor. Dady made a motion to strike M.J.’s mother’s testimony on hearsay and Confrontation Clause grounds. M.J.’s mother also testified that M.J.’s mental health problems have resulted in M.J.’s hospitalization more than 10 times. M.J.’s mother testified these hospitalizations normally occur after M.J. becomes physically and emotionally escalated or when M.J. threatens to harm herself. M.J.’s mother testified that she had age-appropriate conversations about sex with M.J. M.J.’s mother expressed that prior to the incident, M.J. understood the physical aspects of what sex is. M.J.’s mother explained that some of the conversations were prompted by M.J.’s being accused of inappropriate sexual touching of her half sister. The incidents with her half sister resulted in M.J.’s being hospitalized and then receiving treatment at a residential treatment facility for approximately 5 months. At the close of the State’s case, Dady made a motion to dismiss. Dady claimed the State failed to prove that M.J. lacked capacity and that Dady knew or had reason to know M.J. lacked capacity under the statute. The court denied the motion. At the conclusion of evidence, Dady objected to jury instruction No. 6 proposed by the court. Dady submitted an alternate instruction based on the definition of mental impairment taken from In re Interest of K.M.1 Instruction No. 6 provided in part: “‘Mentally Incapable’ means that because of the victim’s age or mental impairment, the victim was incapable of resisting or appraising the nature of her sexual conduct. ‘Mental Impairment’ means the victim’s impairment was so severe that she lacked the capacity to consent to sexual conduct with the Defendant.” Dady’s proposed jury instruction stated in relevant part: “Mentally or physically incapable of resisting or appraising the nature of her conduct” shall mean a significant abnormality on the part of the victim such as 1 In re Interest of K.M., 299 Neb. 636, 910 N.W.2d 82 (2018). - 656 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 304 Nebraska Reports STATE v. DADY Cite as 304 Neb. 649 severe intoxication or other substantial mental or physical impairment. In order for a mental impairment to be substantial, it must be severe; a person in this category is treated as equivalent to a severely intoxicated or an unconscious person. Not every mental challenge or impairment is so severe that the person lacks the capacity to resist or appraise the nature of her conduct. The court gave its proposed instruction No. 6. Other instructions, given without objection, provided that the jury must apply the law in the instructions and that no one instruction contains all of the law applicable to this case. A further instruction provided the specific elements of the charge using the language of § 28-319(1)(b). After the jury returned a guilty verdict, Dady made a motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, for a new trial. Dady provided several arguments in support of the motion, only two of which were assigned on appeal. First, Dady argued that the jury instructions were incorrect and prejudicial. Second, Dady argued that there were irregularities in the proceedings of the court, the prosecuting attorney, and the witnesses for the State prejudicial to his rights. The alleged trial irregularities related to the court’s change in its ruling on whether Dady could present evidence under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 27-412 (Reissue 2016) of three sexual encounters M.J. had with other people. Dady had provided notice before trial that he intended to use evidence under § 27-412 to demonstrate M.J.’s prior knowledge and sexual activities. Specifically, Dady wanted to question M.J. concerning certain episodes of sexual conduct between M.J. and her half sister, between M.J. and her cousin, and between M.J. and her brother. The encounters with the half sister occurred before the events with Dady, the encounter with her cousin occurred after the incident with Dady, and the timing of the encounter with her brother was unknown. The State filed a motion in limine to exclude evidence of the encounters, asserting that the encounters were not relevant. - 657 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 304 Nebraska Reports STATE v. DADY Cite as 304 Neb. 649 The court initially determined that Dady would not be allowed to question M.J. concerning the three encounters. However, the court did allow Dady to question M.J.’s mother about one hospitalization and whether it occurred because of an incident between M.J. and her half sister. As the trial progressed and the court learned more about the nature of the case, the court reconsidered its initial ruling on the motion in limine. Before cross-examination of M.J. began, the court reversed its prior decision and indicated to both parties that it was going to allow some questioning about M.J.’s previous sexual encounters because such evidence could demonstrate M.J.’s ability to appraise the nature of her conduct. After the cross-examination of M.J. began, the court took a recess, dismissed the jury, and reversed its decision again, back to its original position. The court specified that it would allow questioning which could tend to prove M.J. knew what vaginal intercourse is or what sexual arousal is, but would not allow the further questioning of M.J. about the past sexual encounters. The court reasoned that the information to be obtained from questioning about the encounters and the subsequent hospitalizations was not relevant. The court denied Dady’s posttrial motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or for a new trial. At the sentencing hearing, the judge took into account Dady’s unfortunate upbringing, his maturity level, and his previous criminal history. The court noted that Dady had already received counseling and education concerning appropriate sexual conduct before the incident in this case occurred. The court noted that probation and education did not deter Dady. The court explained the serious nature of the offense and took into consideration the likelihood that Dady would reoffend. The court sentenced Dady to 20 to 25 years’ imprisonment. ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR Dady asserts, renumbered and rephrased, that the trial court erred by (1) giving a jury instruction that incorrectly stated the law; (2) failing to give Dady’s proposed jury instruction; - 658 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 304 Nebraska Reports STATE v. DADY Cite as 304 Neb. 649 (3) failing to find the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to sustain a guilty verdict; (4) admitting evidence that M.J. was diagnosed with ADHD, ODD, and DMDD; (5) excluding evidence of M.J.’s other sexual conduct; (6) denying Dady’s motion for a new trial; and (7) imposing an excessive sentence.