Opinion ID: 2549265
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Prior Incidents of Sexual Abuse

Text: The State filed a pretrial notice of intent to offer evidence of prior wrongs pursuant to K.S.A. 60-455. The trial court ruled the evidence was admissible to show defendant's plan or modus operandi and instructed the jury to that effect before evidence was admitted through testimony from social worker Cindy Bowen, who had worked at Kansas Social and Rehabilitation Services. As part of its final written jury instructions, the court also gave a limiting instruction stating that the jury was only to consider evidence of past crimes for the purpose of proving defendant's plan. Cindy Bowen testified that in 1998, while she was a social worker in Stafford County, she spoke with the children's maternal grandmother about allegations of physical abuse by McHenry. Bowen went to the grandmother's home and interviewed the three older children. The daughter, who was then 10 years old, told Bowen about three different incidents of sexual abuse that occurred while the family lived in Oklahoma. She stated that in January 1997, while her mother was gone to the grocery store, McHenry asked the boys to go outside and play and then had the daughter go into his bedroom. The two undressed and the daughter stated that McHenry put his finger up my private and sucked my boob. McHenry also told his daughter, If you'll stay five more minutes, I'll give you $5. In May 1997, McHenry and his daughter were riding in his semi truck. He pulled over at a rest area and had her get in the sleeper of the truck and take her clothes off. McHenry also undressed. Again, the daughter stated McHenry put his finger in my private, sucked my boob. She also stated McHenry tried to put his thing in me, but didn't. And then he peed on me. In February 1998, the daughter stated McHenry came into her bedroom, touched her private and told her to get undressed. When he went to the bathroom, the daughter got up and went into the room where her brothers were. McHenry followed her, and she told him, Get the hell away from me. Bowen relayed this information to the authorities in Oklahoma, but to her knowledge a criminal prosecution was never pursued there.