Opinion ID: 1201634
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Testimony at Trial

Text: At trial, the State introduced the testimony of a clinical psychologist, Dr. Barbara Lenssen. Her qualifications were not challenged. The district attorney's office had engaged Dr. Lenssen to evaluate the credibility and competency of the two boys before trial. The purpose of her testimony at trial, however, was not made clear. Dr. Lenssen testified that she diagnosed the boys as suffering from PTSD consistent with sexual abuse. She recounted some of the symptoms that she observed in the boys. As a basis for her diagnosis, Dr. Lenssen stated that she interviewed the children and spent about three hours with each of them, met with their therapist and their mother, and viewed a videotaped interview of the boys by an investigator from the district attorney's office. Dr. Lenssen also repeated several of the statements that the boys made to her during her evaluation to the effect that Fairweather sexually abused them, including oral sex and anal penetration. Dr. Lenssen also testified about the boys' credibility. She discriminated between a statement by one of the boys that she believed was truthful and another statement which she believed was contrived. Characterizing one of the boys' statements, Dr. Lenssen stated that it seemed to be very factual. She also testified that the boys' statements to her were internally consistent in that they had reported the same things to different people. Dr. Lenssen did acknowledge, however, that she made no independent investigation of the internal consistency of the children's statements because she considered their mother to be a reliable source and because her diagnosis of PTSD fit in very well. On redirect examination, the prosecution asked her whether children sometimes lied about or fabricated accusations. She responded that sex acts are not within the normal realm of experience of children and that they are not good liars. In response to a question by the prosecution on direct examination, Dr. Lenssen also testified that the sexual abuse that the boys experienced was the direct cause of their PTSD symptoms. As to one of the boys, she concluded that his PTSD was a result of the sexual abuse which he has reported happened to him. Dr. David Burke also testified during the State's case-in-chief. He was qualified as a medical doctor with a specialty in child and adolescent psychiatry without objection from the defense. He had treated the boys and had prescribed ritalin for each of them. Dr. Burke agreed with Dr. Lenssen's diagnosis of PTSD and testified that it was caused by the sexual abuse that each of the boys had experienced. He also testified that the boys told him that they were molested by their father.