Opinion ID: 2633468
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: the magistrate in this case acted within his discretion in declining to bind virgin over for trial

Text: ¶ 35 With these principles in mind, we turn to the facts of this case. Granting some deference to the magistrate's decision, we conclude that the magistrate acted within his discretion in finding the prosecution's evidence insufficient to support a reasonable belief that the alleged crime occurred and in refusing to bind Virgin over for trial. In his order denying bindover, the magistrate stated that the evidence lack[ed] sufficient credibility and reliability to form a reasonable belief that the alleged offense occurred and thus is wholly lacking and incapable of any reasonable inference that would support a bind-over. The magistrate explained that [t]he only evidence in support of the alleged touching came from the child herself in two separate statementsthe first when she was age 3 and the second when she was age 6 and that [t]here was a multitude of inconsistencies between those statements and the statements and testimony of third-party witnesses. ¶ 36 Upon review of the facts of this case and applying the appropriate level of deference, we cannot say that the magistrate exceeded his discretion in refusing to bind Virgin over for trial. The only evidence that Virgin committed the crime came from M.'s testimony. Stewart testified only as to opportunity, and even as to that issue her testimony contradicted her earlier statement. Stewart's account given during the preliminary hearing that Virgin and M. were upstairs at the same time without her is conspicuously absent from her detailed written statement made three days after the alleged incident. Accordingly, the case turns on whether M.'s testimony was so inconsistent, contradictory, or incredible as to render it insufficient to support a reasonable belief that Virgin committed the crime. ¶ 37 We conclude that the magistrate acted within his discretion in concluding that it was. M.'s statements were inconsistent and contained a significant portion that was uniformly disbelieved. Her statements regarding what happened in the bathroom after the alleged abuse are particularly inconsistent. For example, in her interview with Dr. Smith, M. reported that Virgin showed her a picture of a penis, but in her interview with the Dr. Mooers, M. said that Virgin exposed himself to her. In the 2000 Interview, M. said that Virgin just talked about penises and vaginas, but in the 2002 Interview, M. said nothing about learning these words. Finally, in both the 2000 and 2002 Interviews, M. stated that Virgin had his clothes on the whole time, and in the 2002 interview, M. stated that Virgin [d]id [not] show [her] any parts of his body. Furthermore, testimony established that M. did not appear disturbed or distraught at any time throughout the night in question. Perhaps most significant is the fact that M. reported that two separate incidents of possible sexually-oriented conduct occurred on the night in question  Virgin's alleged touching in the bathroom, which is the subject of this case, and a game with Virgin and Stewart in M.'s bedroom that involved trying to touch one another's bottom. But the account of Stewart and Virgin playing the bottom game with M. is universally disbelieved. Given these and other inconsistencies in the record, we conclude that the magistrate acted within his discretion in finding the evidence insufficient to support a reasonable belief that the crime was committed and that Virgin committed it. ¶ 38 In making this decision, we emphasize that this is a unique case. We do not intend this case to close the door to cases based on the testimony of young children. We are sensitive to the fact that child sexual abuse cases often rest solely on the testimony of a young child. We also recognize that it is not unusual that a child's testimony be somewhat inconsistent, especially in sexual abuse cases. This case is made unique, however, by the fact that Stewart's testimony about when the alleged incident could have occurred contradicted her previous statement; by the fact that M. made other allegations of sexual misconduct that were disbelieved; and by the fact that M.'s testimony, the only evidence that the crime was committed, contained multiple inconsistencies, in part, because the filing of the case was delayed for over two years.