Court Opinion

ID: 9677078
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 05:43:01.787728+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:53.650629
License: Public Domain

WINTERSHEIMER, Justice,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion.
This appeal is from a judgment based on a jury verdict which convicted Mitchell of three counts of first-degree sodomy, two counts of third-degree sodomy and two counts of incest. He was sentenced to 191 years.
Mitchell was the stepfather of twin girls and a boy. He became involved with the children’s mother when the twins were two or three years old and was often in the home prior to the marriage. He moved into the home permanently when the girls were six years old. He was accused of engaging in repeated sexual misconduct with all three of the stepchildren over a period of approximately ten years. None of the children reported the alleged sexual molestations until one of the girls confided in a counselor after an unsuccessful suicide attempt. Mitchell denied having any type of sexual activity with any of the children. He claims that the children made up the stories with the mother in order to regain possession of the house.
Mitchell argues that it was prejudicial error to allow expert testimony concerning the “child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome.” At trial, Mitchell stipulated the credentials of the expert, but objected to the testimony because she did not treat the children and therefore could not state whether the children suffered from the syndrome. He also objected to the testimony as being improper in the order of witnesses. He now raises for the first time the additional argument that the expert opinion was, per se, objectionable. The Commonwealth admits that the expert never examined or counseled the children who were the victims in this case. She was not asked whether these victims suffered from the sexual abuse accommodation syndrome in order to avoid the prohibitions of earlier decisions of this Court where expert testimony regarding the syndrome was held inadmissible because it invaded the prov*934ince of the jury. Hester v. Commonwealth, Ky., 734 S.W.2d 457 (1987).
The expert’s testimony was general in nature and limited in scope. None of her testimony concerned these particular victims. She did not examine or counsel the victims and did not testify that the victims suffered from sexual abuse accommodation syndrome, that they exhibited any characteristics of the syndrome, or that they had been sexually abused. The expert did not offer an opinion as to the truthfulness of the children, or that generally sexually abused children are truthful when they come forward with their secret. The Commonwealth contends that it offered the testimony only in order to give some information that was not within the common knowledge of the jury. The expert testimony was offered to educate the jury and to aid it in determining the credibility of the testimony heard directly from the victims. Such testimony is admissible if it is outside the scope of common knowledge and experience of the jury and consequently aids them in understanding the evidence and in resolving the issues on their own. Cf. Wigmore on Evidence (Chadbourne rev.) §§ 1917, 1928, 1924 (1978).
Expert testimony which explains the psychological dynamics of sexual abuse is relevant because it permits the jury to understand inconsistencies in the victim’s behavior. The expert was not rendering an opinion on the specific abuses inflicted in this case and the order of testimony was of no consequence.
Lantrip v. Commonwealth, Ky., 713 S.W.2d 816 (1986) and Bussey v. Commonwealth, Ky., 697 S.W.2d 139 (1985) are consistent in reaching the conclusion that the testimony of an expert witness concerning the sexual abuse accommodation syndrome was inadmissible where no evidence was offered that the syndrome had attained scientific acceptance or credibility. Here the witness testified that the syndrome is a commonly accepted conceptual framework that is recognized among clinicians in this field. This evidence explains the history of allowing admission into evidence of a victim’s first complaint of sexual molestation. The rationale for admitting such evidence stems from the assumption that failure to complain is an assertion that no crime occurred. Obviously, a competent adult would make an immediate outcry regarding sexual molestation. Delay in reporting or nondisclosure of such incidents is common in children but may not be apparent to the average juror.
The behavioral characteristics of child victims of sexual abuse is beyond the scope of common knowledge and experience of an average juror, and that knowledge of such behavior will aid the jurors in reviewing the victims’ testimony and weighing its. credibility. The jury could not fully understand the delayed disclosure of the abuse by the children without the assistance of the general expert testimony, and the Commonwealth should not be precluded from presenting forth this evidence.
Other state courts have allowed such general expert testimony but limit its use. Commonwealth v. Baldwin, 348 Pa.Super. 368, 502 A.2d 253 (1985) subsequently overruled on basis that expert opinion as to the veracity of victim is improper, provides an extensive review of the approach of other states. Wheat v. State, Del.Supr., 527 A.2d 269 (1987) admissible to explain delay in reporting or to explain recantation; State v. Middleton, 294 Or. 427, 657 P.2d 1215 (1983); State v. Haseltine, 120 Wis.2d 92, 352 N.W.2d 673 (1984) error in opinion evidence that victim was telling the truth; State v. Moran, 151 Ariz. 378, 728 P.2d 248 (1986); Smith v. State, 100 Nev. 570, 688 P.2d 326 (1984); People v. Benjamin R., 103 A.D.2d 663, 481 N.Y.S.2d 827 (1984); State v. Geyman, 224 Mont. 194, 729 P.2d 475 (1986); Allison v. State, 256 Ga. 851, 353 S.E.2d 805 (1987) error in expert testifying that victim had been abused; State v. Myers, 359 N.W.2d 604 (Minn.1984); State v. Catsam, 148 Vt. 366, 534 A.2d 184 (1987) error in expert testifying that victim suffered from disorder and was telling the truth; People v. Hampton, 746 P.2d 947 (Colo.1987) rape trauma syndrome evidence allowed to explain delayed reporting; People v. Payan, 173 Cal.App.3d 27, 220 Cal.Rptr. 126 (1985); State v. Hester, 114 Idaho 688, 760 P.2d 27 (1988); Rodriquez v. *935State, 741 P.2d 1200 (Alaska App.1987); Sexton v. State, 529 So.2d 1041 (Ala.Cr.App.1988).
The province of the jury was not invaded. Opinion evidence must be relevant to be admissible (i.e. there is a delay in reporting or a retraction involved); and it must not decide an ultimate issue of fact (i.e. that the victim is suffering from the syndrome or that the victim is telling the truth). In this case there was a long delay in the reporting and the expert testimony did not embrace an ultimate issue of fact. The testimony as admitted here was proper.
The necessity for having an outside expert explain the syndrome and the reaction of a child to sexual molestation must be viewed in the light of the legal history regarding rape. 4 Wigmore Evidence §§ 1134-1140 (Chadbourne Rev.1972) explains the background of admitting into evidence the first complaint of rape by a victim. The rationale arises from the assumption that failure to complain can be viewed as the absence of any crime. If the jury hears of no complaint, they can assume that there was none. Through the years our legal system has recognized that the prosecution should be allowed to rebut such an inference in advance and introduce evidence of the complaint. “Thus the essence of the process consists in showing that the woman did not in fact behave with a silence inconsistent with her present story.” Id. p. 300.
Practical experience indicates that an adult victim would make a prompt complaint of rape or sexual molestation. However, it is this generally accepted reaction of adults to such a situation that inhibits the prosecution of sexual crimes involving children. The experience of various sex abuse treatment centers indicates that children do not react as adults in this situation. See Child Abuse Neglect Vol. 7, pp. 177-193 “The Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome” Roland C. Summit, M.D. Clinical studies of sex abuse cases indicate that a typical behavior pattern or syndrome which allows the immediate survival of the child victim within the family but tends to isolate the child from eventual acceptance. The syndrome recognizes and explains the psychological dynamics at work within the family structure; those being the secrecy surrounding the abuse and the intrinsic helpless-helplessness of the child victim. Thereafter there is a subsequent accommodation of the child to the perpetrator’s conduct. Knowledge of these factors certainly aids jurors in understanding why child victims do not report or delay reports of rape and other sexual abuses.
The use of the child sex abuse accommodation syndrome does not deal with mental characteristics but with reactions to a known illegal sexual act. The syndrome is not a hypothesis but has been identified as a syndrome because of the overwhelming frequency within which this psychological situation occurs in child victims.
It is obvious from the opinions of this Court both present and past that the child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome is not highly regarded. Evidently the majority opinion believes what needs to be done is the introduction of expert medical testimony that the syndrome is generally accepted as a medical concept and connection in a relevant manner to the issue of innocence or guilt. The matter of connection is at odds with the decision in Bussey, supra. The task of the prosecutor is formidable as demonstrated by the majority opinion. Obviously, great care must be taken in the introduction of any such evidence to avoid the possibility of exaggeration or undue sympathy for either victim or alleged perpetrator. Any search for the truth in a judicial atmosphere must include an understanding of the entire situation involved. I believe that proper use of the child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome can add to the understanding of the jury in this difficult area of the law.
I would affirm the conviction.
GANT, J., joins in this dissent.