Opinion ID: 2790272
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Trial Testimony Relating to Counts I and II

Text: At trial, J.N.M.A.S. offered her testimony supporting Counts I and II. She testified that between 1993 and 1997, Never Misses A Shot, her uncle, would visit her twice a week when she was around nine or ten years old. She recalled that Willard Fool Bull, Cecil Little Thunder, and Never Misses A Shot would take her into the woods and take turns having intercourse with her. Never Misses A Shot would also touch her breasts, buttocks, and genitals on other occasions. On cross examination, Never Misses A Shot's counsel challenged J.N.M.A.S.'s testimony by highlighting past, potentially contradictory statements. First, J.N.M.A.S. told a criminal investigator in 1999 that Willard Fool Bull, Willard's brother Gervis Fool Bull, and Thomas Fool Bull sexually abused her, but she did not mention Never Misses A Shot. Also in 1999, while J.N.M.A.S. was living at the Wells Springs group home, she similarly told a staff member that Willard, Gervis, and Thomas Fool Bull sexually abused her, but she did not mention Never Misses A Shot. She also wrote a letter entitled Please Tell by J.N.M.A.S. that identified Willard, Gervis, Thomas, and James Running Horse as men that had sexually abused her, but she again did not mention Never Misses A Shot. The letter described how the four men took her into the woods and abused her, similar to her trial testimony recounting the acts of Never Misses A Shot and others when they abused her. J.N.M.A.S. also told the staff at -3- Wells Springs of 12 other men who had sexually abused her, in addition to the four men aforementioned, but she did not mention Never Misses A Shot. In 1999, J.N.M.A.S. also told Dr. Lori Strong that Willard and Gervis had sexually abused her, but did not mention Never Misses A Shot. In 2001, J.N.M.A.S. told FBI Agent Joe Weir that Willard and Cecil Little Thunder would take her into the woods where Willard would abuse her. These accounts matched J.N.M.A.S's trial testimony, but they omitted the presence of Never Misses A Shot. In his closing question on cross examination, Never Misses A Shot's counsel asked [d]on't you think it's possible that you are blaming [Never Misses A Shot] for something that someone else did to you? J.N.M.A.S. replied No. On redirect examination, the government attempted to rehabilitate J.N.M.A.S.'s testimony. First, J.N.M.A.S. testified that she did tell someone about Never Misses A Shot's abuse, recalling that she told forensic interviewer Lora Hawkins that Never Misses A Shot had intercourse with her. Second, when the government asked why J.N.M.A.S. had not disclosed that Never Misses A Shot had abused her, J.N.M.A.S. stated that it was [b]ecause he was still out there and that he wasn't, like, in jail. He was out-out. On recross examination, however, Never Misses A Shot's counsel pointed out that Gervis and Thomas Fool Bull, James Running Horse, and the 12 other men who allegedly abused her were not in jail and still out there at the time when J.N.M.A.S. disclosed the information to others. Other witnesses' testimony was also helpful to Never Misses A Shot. Cecil Little Thunder testified that Willard took both J.N.M.A.S. and him into the woods on one occasion, parked the truck, took J.N.M.A.S. further into the woods, and left Little Thunder in the truck. Little Thunder denied that Never Misses A Shot was present and denied that he himself had any sexual contact with J.N.M.A.S. Further, Little Thunder testified that he had previously told an FBI agent that there was nothing going on between Never Misses A Shot and J.N.M.A.S., but rather that Willard was the one abusing J.N.M.A.S. Also, J.N.M.A.S.'s mother and grandmother testified that -4- they had no knowledge that Never Misses A Shot had any contact with J.N.M.A.S. during the relevant time frame and also stated their opinion that J.N.M.A.S. had an untruthful character.