Opinion ID: 2604587
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Dr Sirotnak's testimony

Text: Hayes argues Dr. Sirotnak was improperly allowed to give his expert opinion based upon statements made to him by people other than the victim and statements found in reports, rather than from an interview with the victim. Dr. Sirotnak, a pediatrician specializing in the area of child abuse, child sexual abuse and child neglect, testified as an expert for the State. Dr. Sirotnak testified that when a case of reported abuse is referred to him for evaluation, he normally obtains as much information about the case as possible and that such information is often obtained from social workers, police officers, other agencies who may have had contact with the victim, and the parents of the child. To formulate an assessment or diagnosis and recommend a plan of treatment, Dr. Sirotnak reviews the information he is provided, takes a history from the parent, documents statements made by the child and conducts a physical examination. Dr. Sirotnak testified that he prefers not to go through a full interview with the child victim because it can be traumatic for the child. Dr. Sirotnak testified that he evaluated the victim according to this standard evaluation procedure. The evaluation included reviewing the information provided concerning statements the victim made to others, speaking to the mother, taking a medical history of the victim, reviewing her symptoms and conducting a medical examination; but did not include an interview with the victim. Finally, Dr. Sirotnak gave his expert opinion that the victim had been sexually abused, noting that the victim displayed developmentally inappropriate knowledge of sex and sexual activity. Dr. Sirotnak then related several statements he relied upon in making his diagnosis. Like the testimony given by Dr. Fall, proper foundation was laid for Dr. Sirotnak's testimony and the third party hearsay statements were admissible under WYO. R. EVID. 703. Dr. Sirotnak reasonably relied on statements normally relied upon in diagnosing a victim of sexual abuse as a basis for his expert opinion. Therefore, admission of those statements was not an abuse of discretion. Hayes also contends he was denied a fair trial when he was not allowed, through cross-examination of Dr. Sirotnak, to explore the possibility that the victim gained her inappropriate knowledge of sexual matters by witnessing Hayes masturbating or urinating. Defense counsel questioned Dr. Sirotnak extensively, attempting to elicit testimony that the victim could have innocently obtained her sexual knowledge. When defense counsel asked the doctor if the child could have observed her father masturbate secretly, without his knowledge, the State objected to the question and the objection was sustained because the doctor did not have the knowledge required to answer the question and any answer would be speculative. Hayes claims he was prevented from fully cross-examining the doctor on his defense theory of the case, thus rendering his trial unfair. However, contrary to the contention in his brief, the trial court did not abuse its discretion. Further, Hayes has not shown how he was prejudiced by a proper ruling that defense counsel was asking for inappro-priate speculation from the doctor.