Court Opinion

ID: 9768278
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 05:54:08.158613+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:30:38.697721
License: Public Domain

OPINION ON STATE’S MOTION FOR REHEARING
W.C. DAVIS, Judge.
In our opinion on original submission we held that the evidence showed that the identity of appellant as the perpetrator of the offense was not in issue and that his defense of alibi did not “automatically” put identity in issue so as to permit the introduction of extraneous offenses. We reaffirm the correctness of our original opinion delivered April 24, 1985, and need not reanalyze the issue here.
In his motion for rehearing the district attorney for Bell County reiterates a contention raised in the Court of Appeals and in this Court on original submission, but which we did not then address. We will do so now.
Appellant's grounds of error pertaining to the admission of extraneous offenses were raised for the first time in a supplemental brief filed in the Court of Appeals on March 16, 1983, about three years after the original brief was filed in the trial court. The Court of Appeals granted appellant leave to file the supplemental brief and addressed the contentions raised therein. The State contended in the Court of Appeals and in this Court, both on original submission and on rehearing, that under Coleman v. State, 632 S.W.2d 616 (Tex.Cr.App.1982) appellant’s contentions are not properly before any court for consideration. Coleman stated that a supplemental brief raising a new ground of error not raised in the original brief, is not properly before the Court for review.
We agree that under Coleman, supra, appellant’s contentions were not properly before the Court of Appeals and thus are not properly before this court. However, because of the constitutional implications we will treat these grounds as unassigned error, see Worton v. State, 492 S.W.2d 519 (Tex.Cr.App.1973), and address the merits of the contentions. Fundamental unfairness and considerations of due process involved in this particular case require our attention. See Perry v. State, 703 S.W.2d 668 (Tex.Cr.App.1986); Carter v. State, 656 S.W.2d 468 (Tex.Cr.App.1983). Because the nature of the offense charged and the extraneous acts admitted were such that the prejudice to the defendant outweighs any probative value, we will address the contentions raised in this case. See Ballard v. State, 464 S.W.2d 861, n. 1 (Tex.Cr.App.1971). Where the improper use of such extraneous acts in the context of the instant case might well have influenced the outcome and affected the fundamental fairness of the trial in this particular case, we feel compelled to address the issue. Ballard, supra; Loper v. Beto, 405 U.S. 473, 92 S.Ct. 1014, 31 L.Ed.2d 374 (1972); Dorsey v. State, 485 S.W.2d 569 (Tex.Cr.App.1972).
In its motions for rehearing, the State asserts that even if the extraneous offenses are not admissible to show identity, they are admissible in cases like the instant one involving the sexual abuse of a child because appellant’s alibi defense put in issue whether any offense occurred at all. Thus, the State argues, evidence of the commission of other recent similar offenses involving children is admissible (1) to show the probability the act occurred; (2) to show appellant’s unnatural attitude toward the victim and witnesses; and (3) to show that the offense was part of a continuing *174scheme and design on the part of appellant. The State argues, in essence, that cases involving sexual offenses, like sodomy or sexual abuse of a child, are governed by different rules of admissibility for extraneous offenses than are other offenses. The State relies on “firmly established” rules fashioned many years ago. An examination of cases discussing the admission of extraneous offenses in these types of cases is necessary to explain the rationale for and development of rules governing the admissibility of extraneous offenses in sex cases.
The general rule is that an accused may not be tried for some collateral crime or for being a criminal generally. Williams v. State, 662 S.W.2d 344 (Tex.Cr.App.1983) and cases cited therein. Therefore, an extraneous offense is not admissible unless “... the transaction is relevant to a material issue in the case; and, the relevancy value of the evidence outweighs its inflammatory or prejudicial potential.” (emphasis in original). Williams, supra, at 346.
As we noted on original submission, rote application of general rules and “automatic” exceptions previously invoked by this Court for admission of extraneous transactions should be avoided. Rather, analysis must be done in every case in which admission of an extraneous offense is sought. The list of “exceptions” to the “general rule” of inadmissibility of extraneous transactions contained in Albrecht v. State, 486 S.W.2d 97 (Tex.Cr.App.1972) is exemplary rather than exhaustive. Williams, supra; Morgan v. State, 692 S.W.2d 877 (Tex.Cr.App.1985). Every case must be examined on it own facts, strengths, and weaknesses to determine whether the extraneous transaction is relevant to a material issue, and whether the relevancy value outweighs the prejudicial potential. For example, in a case where the State’s need to prove intent is strong because of an otherwise innocent act, extraneous acts are more likely to be'more probative than prejudicial. See Morgan, supra. On the other hand, where the circumstances surrounding the offenses are “abundantly supportive of the inference of intent,” the necessity for extraneous offenses to prove intent is minimal and the prejudice arising from their admission, comparatively great. See Prior v. State, 647 S.W.2d 956 (Tex.Cr.App.1983).
I.
We are concerned here with one “exception” established many years ago that has become, over time, distorted and misapplied. Texas, like many other states, recognized a very narrow “exception” to the “general rule” of nonadmissibility of extraneous offenses. The Court permitted a sort of “res gestae” exception for cases involving sexual offenses.
In Battles v. State, 63 Tex.Cr.R. 147, 140 S.W. 783 (1911), this Court reviewed and resolved several lines of conflicting decisions involving admission of extraneous acts of intercourse between the defendant and the victim in rape cases of children under the age of consent. In a very thorough and extensive opinion examining other jurisdictions as well as Texas, the Court held that prior acts of intercourse between the defendant and the complainant were admissible, just as they were in prosecutions for adultery and fornication, to show the circumstances and relationship of the parties so as to place the charged act of intercourse in the context of the long-continuing relationship that existed. The court held:
that all acts and conduct that can be considered and were intended as an inducement to render the accomplishment of his [defendant’s] purpose possible [are] admissible in evidence and where the facts show that a father or person standing in loco parentis, or who, by any tie would cause a child to look to him for guidance, or person who stands in such relation that the child would be susceptible to his wiles, and such person or persons shall, after the acts of inducement, have sexual intercourse with such child at available opportunities, all such acts of intercourse are admissible ...
140 S.W. at 797.
The crux of the rationale for admitting other acts was essentially to show circum*175stances that threw light upon the charged act of intercourse and explained the act in question by showing the relation and mutual disposition of the parties, much like “res gestae” or context of the offense notion.
If the facts show long-continued association, acts and conduct evidently intended to accomplish sexual intercourse, and after obtaining the love and affection and control of the will of a child under 15 years of age, frequent acts of intercourse take place, and each act of intercourse is but a step in the continued transaction, each and every act of intercourse is admissible.... In the offenses of burglary and theft, if the person charged with an offense by certain means and methods commits a number of acts of theft from the same person within a reasonable time of each other, and enters a house by certain modes and means, a person acting with such person is permitted to detail the transactions as a whole, some courts saying it shows system and method, but in reality it is but one continuous transaction, carried on in accordance with a preconceived plan.
140 S.W. at 788.
Even if we view Battles, supra, as establishing an exception, in sex cases, to the general rule barring admission of extraneous offenses, it is a very narrow exception permitting the admission of acts which occurred between the minor complainant and the defendant so as to explain the charged act and view such an unnatural act in light of the relationship of the parties as well as to make a child’s accusation more plausible. A jury would otherwise hear essentially an incomplete version of the charged offense, as though it had occurred in a vacuum as a one-time act. Such evidence from a child, standing alone, might be considered implausible or incredible. The narrow exception sought to alleviate some of that problem.
We note that a prerequisite rule also applied and extraneous acts could not be admitted before they were at issue, such as where a defendant denied such relationship or where cross-examination was of such character as to make the other acts admissible. Wingo v. State, 89 Tex.Cr.R. 162, 229 S.W. 858 (1921); Cottrell v. State, 91 Tex.Cr.R. 131, 237 S.W. 928 (1922); Laredo v. State, 155 Tex.Cr.R. 183, 232 S.W.2d 852 (1950); Gephart v. State, 157 Tex.Cr.R. 414, 249 S.W.2d 612 (Tex.Cr.App.1952). This prerequisite for admission of extraneous acts is actually part of the present day “test”. As we noted in Morgan, supra, at 880, n. 3:
The requirement that the material issue be contested as a prerequisite to admission of extraneous acts in proof thereof ... is no more than a rule of thumb for insuring that an extraneous act is genuinely needed to shore up the State’s case. It is really, therefore, an aspect of the “more probative than prejudicial” analysis, since, ... the greater the State’s need to resort to extraneous offenses to prove up some material issue in the case, the higher will be the probative value of that offense in relation to its potential for prejudice.
The Court still barred evidence of extraneous acts between a third party and the defendant unless admitted to prove a relevant contested issue such as intent, identity, motive, or to rebut a defensive theory. Bielecki v. State, 140 Tex.Cr.R. 355, 145 S.W.2d 189 (1940).
In 1951, Johns v. State, 155 Tex.Cr.R. 503, 236 S.W.2d 820 (Tex.Cr.App.1951), although apparently unaware of the extensive opinion in Battles, supra, reiterated the principles stated in Battles.
[I]n trials of an accused for rape under the age of consent and if material in determining the truth or falsity of the accusations, there can be taken into consideration the associations between the parties and their evident regard each for the other as evidencing the probability of the charged act and unnaturalness of the accused’s attitude toward the victim of his lust, even in the presence of other acts of like character to the one on which the prosecution is based.
236 S.W.2d at 832.
The court further explained:
*176In matters of incest or rape under the age of consent, it is often of importance to show the attitude between them and the relative size, age and strength of the parties, and if possible, to show how one in a position demanding care and guidance of a related person, has failed to such duty and has adopted an unnatural attitude relative thereto, and by fondling or otherwise, evidences a desire for sexual gratification toward such child or relative. We therefore think that where any such acts become material to thus show them they are admissible.
236 S.W.2d at 823.
Johns, supra, is really no different than Battles, supra, in permitting the admission of evidence of acts between the minor complainant and the defendant to explain the circumstances of the charged act by placing it in its proper context of the relationship between the parties and thus explaining the charged act “which would not otherwise appear plausible.” Gephart, 249 S.W.2d at 620. Such evidence tends to make the complainant’s allegation more credible and more probable. Thus, the extraneous acts are more probative than prejudicial in this context. See also Brown v. State, 657 S.W.2d 117 (Tex.Cr.App.1983).
Subsequent cases, although correct in admitting extraneous acts occurring between the defendant and the complainant, extracted the language in Johns, supra, and stated the rationale for admission simply as “evidencing the probability of the charged act and the unnaturalness of the accused’s attitude toward the victim of his lust ...” The accompanying explanation and rationale for probative value as to the associations of the parties has been left out. See Gephart, supra; Lozano v. State, 159 Tex. Cr.R. 613, 266 S.W.2d 147 (Tex.Cr.App.1954); Head v. State, 160 Tex.Cr.R. 42, 267 S.W.2d 419 (Tex.Cr.App.1954); Earwood v. State, 161 Tex.Cr.R. 171, 275 S.W.2d 652 (Tex.Cr.App.1955); Happner v. State, 168 Tex.Cr.R. 260, 325 S.W.2d 390 (Tex.Cr.App.1959); Smith v. State, 170 Tex.Cr.R. 518, 342 S.W.2d 445 (Tex.Cr.App.1961); Hensley v. State, 388 S.W.2d 424 (Tex.Cr.App.1965); Smith v. State, 409 S.W.2d 409 (Tex.Cr.App.1966); James v. State, 418 S.W.2d 513 (Tex.Cr.App.1967); Williams v. State, 490 S.W.2d 604 (Tex.Cr.App.1973). These decisions have apparently lost sight of the fact that the exception, stated in this fashion, is directly contrary to the general rule excluding propensity evidence to show a defendant’s criminal character. Regardless of the simplification, Texas openly acknowledged a limited acceptance of propensity evidence in sexual offenses involving a minor complainant and the defendant.
However, extraneous sexual offenses involving the defendant and third parties were still not admissible under this rationale. Young v. State, 159 Tex.Cr.R. 164, 261 S.W.2d 836 (Tex.Cr.App.1953); Bielecki, supra. This is not to say such extraneous offenses are always inadmissible. If they are relevant to a material issue in the case, and the relevancy value outweighs its prejudicial potential, they are admissible. Williams, supra, at 346.
II.
The exception permitting admission of other acts committed between the complainant and the defendant was routinely followed until 1967 when Johnston v. State, 418 S.W.2d 522 (Tex.Cr.App.1967) appeared. This deviation was then relied upon in McDonald v. State, 513 S.W.2d 44 (Tex.Cr.App.1974). Although the two cases are somewhat confusing upon exactly what basis they are decided, it appears that the narrow exception forged in Battles, supra, and Johns, supra, has been expanded to permit the admission of extraneous sexual offenses between the defendant and a third party not involved or connected to the offense charged. Indeed, the State in the instant case argued such contention. Both McDonald, supra, and Johnston, supra, seem to indicate that in a sodomy case involving a minor where a defendant presents a defense of alibi, but where identity is not in issue, extraneous sexual offenses involving a defendant and a third party are admissible to show “the probability of the act charged and the unnatural *177attention” of the defendant toward the complainant. Prior to Johnston, supra, and McDonald, supra, extraneous sexual offenses admitted to show “probability of the act charged and unnatural attention”, were only permitted when they involved the minor complainant and the defendant.
The State contends that under Johnston, supra, and McDonald, supra, once a defendant offers an alibi defense, similar extraneous sexual offenses involving third parties are material and thus admissible to show “the probability the act occurred and the defendant’s unnatural attention” toward children. The “probability” and “unnatural attention” rationale simply does not rebut alibi. Instead, it allows admission on a propensity theory, i.e., once a sex offender, always a sex offender. To permit extraneous acts to be admitted when a alibi defense is presented which does not involve an issue of identity, logically means such acts could be admissible when a defendant simply denies the offense, since alibi is nothing more than a particularized denial of guilt. P. Robinson, Criminal Law Defenses, § 69 (1984). Therefore, consistent with the State’s argument, extraneous offenses would always be admissible if a defendant denied committing the act charged. No defendant could offer any defensive theory without “automatic” introduction of extraneous sexual offenses, whether between the complainant and defendant or between the defendant and an unrelated third party. The prejudice would be overwhelming and the obliteration of the protection inherent in the exclusionary rule for extraneous offenses would be complete.
While we have recognized a narrow exception for cases involving a minor complainant and the defendant, we refuse to expand that exception to permit exactly what the exclusionary rule for extraneous offenses forbids — propensity evidence, especially when, unlike Battles, supra, and Johns, supra, such evidence does not show a relationship or mutual disposition between the complainant and the defendant. At least under Battles, supra, and Johns, supra, the extraneous acts helped to “set the scene” and paint a complete picture of the relationship between the complainant and defendant much more pertinent to the offense charged than acts would be between the defendant and a third party. The danger is too great that juries would convict on character evidence of this type and that because a defendant had committed similar acts before and was thus an “established sodomite”, as the State contends, he should be convicted of the instant charge. In sex cases, this prejudice is even more pronounced. Notes, Evidence — Criminal Law — Prior Sexual Offenses Against a Person Other Than the Prosecutrix, 46 Tulane L.Rev. 336 (1971). The narrow exception arose for two reasons: First, in response to a defendant’s denial of the offense or undermining of the complainant; and, second, on a premise of supporting a minor complainant’s credibility and plausibility, and showing a preexisting relationship. Such an unwarranted expansion as the State proposes cannot be permitted if we are to conduct fair trials on such inherently prejudicial and emotional offenses.
III.
Various commentators have explained the admission of extraneous acts between a defendant and a complainant, an apparent violation of the general rule of nonadmissi-bility for extraneous offenses, by the nature of the offense. Gregg, Other Acts of Sexual Misbehavior and Perversion as Evidence in Prosecutions for Sexual Offenses, 6 Ariz.L.Rev. 212 (1965); Comment, Defining Standards for Determining the Admissibility of Evidence of Other Sex Offenses, 25 UCLA L.Rev. 261 (1977); E. Imwinkelried, Uncharged Misconduct Evidence § 4:14 (1984). Sexual offenses are highly emotional issues in our society and the defendants are regarded differently from the “ordinary” criminal. Gregg, supra, points out that the narrow exception evolved from prosecutions of consensual sexual crimes like adultery and fornication, to sexual offenses involving children under the age of consent. See also Battles, supra. A successful conviction often depend*178ed primarily on whether a jury believed the complainant, turning the trial into a swearing match between the complainant and the defendant. Admission of other acts committed by the defendant against the complainant “corroborated” and made more plausible the complainant’s testimony.1 Gephart, supra; Gregg, supra, at 219. See Smith v. State, 409 S.W.2d 409 (Tex.Cr. App.1966). These extraneous acts also evidenced the probability that the defendant had indeed committed the offense for which he was charged and showed the lustful disposition or unnatural attitude of the defendant toward the victim, both of which are actually propensity evidence, something usually barred from admission.. See Gregg, supra, at 219; E. Imwinkelried, supra, § 4:15 at 35; and Notes, supra, at 341. In sum, extraneous offenses were admitted basically for two reasons: (1) a need to enhance the credibility and plausibility of the complainant’s testimony and accusation, sometimes called corroboration; and (2) evidence of extraneous acts made it more probable the defendant was guilty of the charged act. This was regarded as particularly necessary in sexual offenses where the crimes were often committed in secret. See, Gregg, supra, and Comment, supra. Texas’ “probability” or lustful disposition rationale originated as part of' “res gestae” or context notion. In Texas, an additional requirement was that the defendant must first deny the act or undermine or impeach the complainant in some way before extraneous acts are admissible. Gephart, supra; Laredo, supra.
The lustful disposition idea was premised on the belief that sex offenders are more likely to repeat their crimes than are other criminals. Notes, supra, at 342. Recent studies call this premise into question and show that sex offenders rate as one of the lowest recidivists among criminals. Notes, supra, and articles cited therein at 342. The propensity rationale for the special exception admitting extraneous sexual acts is of dubious validity.
Nevertheless, although criticized by many commentators and abolished by some courts, we continue to recognize a narrow exception for sex offenses to permit admission of similar extraneous sex offenses which occurred between the minor complainant and the accused. Cf. Morgan, 692 S.W.2d at 882, nn. 3, 7; Prior v. State, 647 S.W.2d 956 (Tex.Cr.App.1983); Laredo, supra; see E. Imwinkelried, supra; Notes, supra. Arguably, because extraneous sex acts between the complainant and the defendant are not admissible until the defendant denies the act or undermines the credibility of the complainant in some fashion, this narrow “exception” simply follows the admissibility analysis of Williams, 662 S.W.2d 344. The extraneous acts are relevant and probative under the “res gestae” or context rationale from which they arose. When the defendant denies the act or relationship or undermines the State’s case, then there is need for such evidence to shore up some part of the State’s case, and the prejudice is not greater than that need, i.e., the extraneous acts between the complainant and the defendant are usually more probative than prejudicial.
Therefore, we continue to recognize a limited “exception” for admission of extraneous sexual transactions between a defendant and the complainant. See, Brown, supra. Ideally, as discussed, such evidence will be admissible under a Williams, supra, analysis where the extraneous transaction is relevant to a material issue. But, we also recognize the validity of the “res gestae” or context exception established in Battles, supra, and Johns, supra. Particularly in cases involving minors, such evidence can aid the jury in properly evaluating the “inherently questionable testimony of a minor against an adult responsible for *179his welfare” or in a position of authority and control over the minor. See Veloz v. State, 666 S.W.2d 581 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1984). This type of rationale is similar to that permitting admission of certain “background” evidence in murder and voluntary manslaughter cases. See V.T. C.A. Penal Code, § 19.06. While permitting admission of evidence of acts between the defendant and the complainant, rather than including third parties, may be a difference of degree rather than kind, E. Im-winkelried, supra, § 4:15 at 36., the degree of prejudice is an important difference in balancing admission and exclusion. Williams v. State, 662 S.W.2d 344 (Tex.Cr.App.1984).2
We reiterate that the “probability” and “unnatural attention” language as justification for admitting extraneous sexual acts between a defendant and a third party is inappropriate and incorrect. The limited exception applies only to extraneous sexual acts between the defendant and the complainant. And, even as to these acts, as explained, the “probability” and “unnatural attention” language, by itself, is not justification or rationale for admission. That language must be used as it originated as part of the res gestae and context rationale espoused in Battles, supra, and Johns, supra. Therefore, to the extent that McDonald, supra, and Johnston, supra, admitted extraneous acts between the defendant and a third party on a “probability” and “unnatural attention” exception, they are overruled. However, McDonald, supra, and Johnston, supra, also properly admitted extraneous offenses on other proper grounds such as rebuttal of an impression that the defendant was a churchgoing, hardworking man, and therefore unlikely to commit the charged offense; and rebuttal that the defendant was being framed by the witnesses. Thus, the same extraneous acts, though inadmissible as propensity evidence, may be admissible under a proper analysis and a proper rationale. Extraneous sex offenses were and are still admissible if they fall into one of the proper “exceptions” to the “general rule” barring their admission. See and cf. Ball v. State, 163 Tex.Cr.R. 214, 289 S.W.2d 926 (Tex.Cr.App.1956) (correct as to intent); Rangel v. State, 171 Tex.Cr.R. 620, 352 S.W.2d 275 (Tex.Cr.App.1961) (intent); Blum v. State, 417 S.W.2d 66 (Tex.Cr.App. 1967) (intent); Asay v. State, 456 S.W.2d 903 (Tex.Cr.App.1970) (rebut intoxication); Ballard v. State, 464 S.W.2d 861 (Tex.Cr.App.1971) (rebut defendant’s assertion that he did not “mess around with little children”); Williams v. State, 481 S.W.2d 815 (Tex.Cr.App.1972) (rebut alibi by showing car was not where defendant said it was at the time); Williams v. State, 502 S.W.2d 135 (Tex.Cr.App.1973) (intent).
IV.
In the instant case, the State’s witnesses were impeached and their testimony *180and credibility undermined by cross examination and by appellant’s strong defense. However, the extraneous acts between appellant and other males does not help prove appellant committed the charged offenses except under a propensity rationale, for which they are not admissible. The “res gestae” rationale of Battles, supra, and Johns, supra, is inapplicable; intent is not a contested issue in the instant case where the act itself is indicative of such; cf. Morgan, supra; identity, as discussed in our original opinion is not an issue; nor do the acts between third parties and appellant rebut appellant’s alibi. It does not make sense to claim, as the State urges, that extraneous offenses involving third parties “rebut” the defense of alibi. Even if we agreed with the State that they were admissible to show “probability and unnatural attention,” this is not the same thing as rebuttal. Rebuttal of a defense means evidence is introduced contradicting some aspects) of the defense itself, i.e., a defendant claims he was in his car in a place other than where the offense occurred; evidence that an unidentified man, driving appellant’s car at the time he said he was elsewhere in his car, exposed himself is admissible to rebut his alibi. Williams v. State, 481 S.W.2d 815 (Tex.Cr.App.1972). A defendant claims he was intoxicated at the time of the offense; evidence rebutting his claim of intoxication is admissible. Asay v. State, 456 S.W.2d 903 (Tex.Cr.App.1970); cf. Messenger v. State, 638 S.W.2d 883 (Tex.Cr.App.1982). Extraneous offenses unrelated to the specifics or to any aspect of the alibi defense are not admissible under a theory they rebut that alibi defense.
Thus, we are left with the State’s last argument for admission — the extraneous offenses show that the charged offense was part of a continuing scheme and plan by appellant.
The “common plan” exception has been often employed as a “subterfuge for the admission of propensity-type evidence.” Comments, supra, at 280. We are not here concerned with the modus operandi or “signature” exception used to prove identity. A series of similar acts are not enough to show a common plan or design.
But where the conduct offered consists merely in the doing of other similar acts, it is obvious that something more is required than that mere similarity, which suffices for evidencing intent.... [T]he effort is to establish a definite prior design or system which included the doing of the act charged as part of its consummation ....
The added element, then, must be, not merely similarity in the results, but such a concurrence of common features that the various acts are naturally to be explained as caused by a general plan of which they are individual manifestations.
2 J. Wigmore, Evidence, § 304 at 249 (Chadbourn Rev.1979). See also R. Ray, Texas Law of Evidence, § 1521 at 208 (Texas Practice 3rd ed. 1980). In sex cases where one victim is the object of repeated assaults it might be said to show one continuous transaction or system. Battles, 140 S.W. at 788. Strictly speaking, such reasoning is incorrect. The standard exception for plan, scheme or design allows other offenses to be shown which are “integral elements of a scheme or plan ultimately directed toward an end that is the same as the one toward which the offense charged is directed.” Gregg, supra, at 227. Wigmore presents an example in which the accused is charged with assault with intent to rape. Where intent alone is disputed, a prior assault on the same woman the day before might have probative value. But, if the assault itself is disputed and the defense is alibi, the prior assault is of little value. 2 J. Wigmore, supra, § 304 at 249.
In upholding the admission of extraneous sexual offenses, several Texas cases have simply included common design or plan in the list of reasons for admission, without any discussion. Johnston, supra, McDonald, supra; O’Neal v. State, 421 S.W.2d 391 (Tex.Cr.App.1967); Kester v. State, 636 S.W.2d 232 (Tex.App.—El Paso 1982). These cases typify the “subterfuge” for admission of propensity-type evi*181dence. A “true” common plan or scheme exception is shown by Haley v. State, 87 Tex.Cr.R. 519, 223 S.W. 202 (1920). The defendant was charged with murder of the husband of his former sweetheart. Evidence that he had poisoned his wife was admissible as a “necessary step(s) or points in the completion of a formed design.”
Central to the common plan or scheme exception is that there be a plan or scheme and the extraneous offenses are steps taken toward the accomplishment of the plan. In the instant case there is general similarity of the offenses, i.e., appellant invited young males to his house, gave them drinks and drugs and committed various sexual acts with them. No plan or preconceived scheme was shown.
In reality, the courts are permitting the proponent to introduce propensity evidence in violation of the prohibition in the first sentence of Rule 404(b). Proof of a number of similar burglaries or drug transactions may be probative of the defendant’s status as a professional criminal. However, if the similarities are insufficient to establish modus [for identity] and there is no inference of a true plan in the defendant’s mind, the proponent is offering the evidence on a forbidden theory of logical relevance. It is immaterial that there are many instances of similar acts by the defendant; the number of acts increases the acts’ probative value on the issue of the defendant’s propensity, but standing alone the number of acts cannot change the propensity quality of the theory of relevance. The courts are illicitly allowing the proponent to prove the defendant’s character, disposition, or propensity.
E. Imwinkelried, supra, § 3:23 at 61-62.
In the instant case there is no evidence of a plan such that the extraneous offenses could be viewed as steps taken toward the accomplishment of a plan. A showing of appellant’s commission of other similar offenses, without more, does not show a common plan so that the various acts are “to be explained as caused by a general plan of which they are individual manifestations.” 2 J. Wigmore, supra, at 249.
In conclusion, we find the extraneous offenses are inadmissible because they do not meet the test — the transaction must be relevant to a material issue in the case; and the relevancy value of the evidence must outweigh its inflammatory or prejudicial potential. Williams, 662 S.W.2d at 346. The State’s motion for rehearing is denied.
CAMPBELL, J., concurs in the result.
ONION, P.J., and TOM G. DAVIS, McCORMICK, and WHITE, JJ., dissent.

. "Corroboration” was sometimes mistakenly used to refer to the complainant’s own testimony about extraneous acts between the defendant and herself. In those instances the "corroboration” was actually admitted to support the credibility of the complainant and was not corroboration. However, third parties also testified to circumstances or acts they saw between the defendant and the complainant. In these instances the testimony was corroborating the complainant.

. In a balancing test the extraneous acts involving the complainant and the defendant are arguably less prejudicial than other extraneous acts because,
[t]he prosecutrix and her relations with the defendant will be the central issue of the trial. If other similar offense are offered in evidence there may still be the disadvantage of surprise for the defendant, especially if the evidence is fabricated. Nevertheless, the surprise problem should be somewhat mitigated since the defendant knows that any other offense introduced in evidence will have to involve both himself and prosecutrix, and he can at least be prepared to meet evidence which attempts to connect him with her. Similarly, since any other offense offered to be proven would involve the same two parties, confusion of the issues for the jury should not be as great as in a case where the defendant’s connection with other women also comes into issue. Finally, where the evidence of the offense is only the testimony of the prosecutrix that other offenses occurred (and this is frequently the case), we have only the charge of several offenses by one person. If a jury does not believe the prosecutrix in respect to the crime charged, it may not be greatly swayed by her further testimony of other offenses. This is in great contrast to the case in which other witnesses testify to other offenses by the defendant. Where there are several independent witnesses testifying to other offenses, there will be a much greater impact on the jury and a much stronger tendency to believe that the defendant committed the act charged.
Gregg, supra, at 220.