Opinion ID: 3163998
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: George’s Trial

Text: The State introduced three main pieces of evidence at trial regarding George’s abuse of A.M.: A.M.’s live testimony, A.M.’s forensic interview,7 and George’s interview. A.M. testified that she frequently stayed with her aunt, Marina, when A.M.’s grandparents (with whom A.M. lived) went out of town. George lived with Marina. A.M. stated that she last stayed with Marina when A.M. was in fourth grade or 6 The indictment did not contain a ninth count. However, the jury instructions, judgment, and parts of the trial refer to Count Nine. These references to Count Nine correspond to Count Ten in the indictment and this opinion. 7 The forensic interviewer also testified that A.M. had stated in the interview that the abuse “started when she was in Head Start, and . . . ended when she moved to Anchorage [in the fourth grade], except for that one incident in Anchorage which was fourth grade.” Because the interviewer was merely recounting what A.M. stated in the interview, we rely only on A.M.’s interview itself and not on the interviewer’s recollection of what A.M. said during the interview. -3- 7072 when A.M. was nine or ten years old. A.M. testified that she could not recall if she had stayed with Marina during the third grade. A.M. indicated that George would come into her room when she stayed with Marina and that when George came into her room “[h]e would touch [her].” She stated that he first touched her when she was four. The prosecutor then asked her, “Do you remember him touching you when you were in the fourth grade?” A.M. stated that she did, and she proceeded to describe George abusing her by engaging in digital penetration. The prosecutor then changed focus, asking if George had touched her with anything other than his hands. A.M. testified that George had also made her engage in fellatio. She stated, A: (Pause) He would make me put it in my mouth. Q: He’d put his — he’d make you put it in your mouth? A: (Pause) Q: Okay. And was that in the third grade? A: (Pause) (Indiscernable). Q: Or was that the fourth grade? A: Third grade, I think. Q: Third grade. Did that also — did that happen in the fourth grade as well? A: (Pause) Hmmm. Q: Yeah? A: (Pause) Q: Was that a yes? A: No. Q: No, okay. Just the third grade? A: (Pause) -4- 7072 After the prosecutor attempted to refresh A.M.’s recollection by showing her the grand jury transcript, the following exchange took place: Q: And so did that happen in the fourth grade as well? A: (Pause) It was the fourth grade but like — it wasn’t quite the year didn’t quite start yet. A.M. then testified that George had engaged in penis-to-vagina penetration with her during her fourth-grade year. The State also introduced portions of A.M.’s forensic interview. During this interview A.M. stated that George would touch her “every night” when she was “little,” clarifying later that she meant when she was five or six years old. She also indicated that “every night” she was at Marina’s, George would make her engage in fellatio and penis-to-vagina penetration. Although A.M. initially stated that the abuse stopped when she moved to Anchorage in or right after the fourth grade, she later recalled an incident that occurred after the move to Anchorage. But she stated that she could not “remember . . . well” if George “[did] anything with his fingers when he touche[d] [her] crotch.” She also testified regarding one incident where George was found “holding [her] crotch and [her] boobs,” and she stated he was told “not to do it again but he still did it.” The jury also heard an edited version of George’s police interview. During George’s interview he claimed that A.M. had him engage in digital penetration with her. George claimed that this contact occurred when A.M. was ten and in Anchorage. He also admitted to an incident when A.M. was four. George claimed that A.M. was “the one that actually did everything to [him],” and that the sexual abuse of A.M. occurred “when [he] was living with Marina.” The State also introduced a December 2009 interview with T.E. T.E. stated that George attempted to put his hands down her underwear and that there was skin-to­ -5- 7072 skin contact but that George did not touch her “private parts.” At trial, T.E. confirmed that George put his fingers under her clothing, and she marked on a diagram indicating that she felt George touch her groin. Relevant to George’s abuse of A.M., T.E. was asked in her 2009 interview if she believed that anyone else had been abused. T.E. indicated that she believed George had also abused A.M. in 2007 or possibly earlier. The jury found George guilty on all but one count, and Superior Court Judge Eric Smith sentenced George to a total of 56 years’ imprisonment with 22 years suspended. On Count Ten, George received a sentence of eight years with two years to be served consecutively to Count One8 and the remainder to be served concurrently.