Opinion ID: 1135325
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: Competence of Susan Y.

Text: Susan was three years and five months old when she stopped attending the day care center, and she did not make any accusations against the appellants until two and one-half years later. She made general allegations of CSA, but her allegations were not always consistent. In her preliminary hearing testimony, she never stated that either Felix or Ontiveros stuck their fingers up her crotch; yet, she made such accusations at trial and both appellants were convicted for these acts. At times, Susan indicated that Felix and Ontiveros did nothing to her or that others performed the CSA. Most of the CSA she testified to could not have occurred. The medical testimony uniformly established that Susan was not subject to full penile penetration or penetration by a knitting needle or knife. Yet, this is precisely what Susan testified to having occurred. Her testimony that she was hung in the closet for three hours by a rope around her neck and that her eyebrows were plucked out is not credible. Nor are her statements that people and animals were killed at Felix's and that she was forced to eat dog feces and drink dog urine and gasoline. When looking at Susan's sworn testimony, we find it more incredible than credible. The district court judge candidly stated that he was concerned about her fantastic observations. When a serious question is raised about a child's ability to recollect and relate truthfully what he or she observed, or the testimony is inherently improbable, the child's competence to testify about those events is seriously challenged. See Wilson v. State, 96 Nev. 422, 424, 610 P.2d 184, 186 (1980). Therefore, we can come to but one conclusion, and it is that Susan cannot differentiate between fact and fantasy when relating the events that occurred at Felix's day care center and should not have been found competent to testify to these facts.