Gohring v. State

967 S.W.2d 459, 1998 Tex. App. LEXIS 1684, 1998 WL 121798
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 18, 1998
Docket09-96-104 CR
StatusPublished
Cited by63 cases

This text of 967 S.W.2d 459 (Gohring v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gohring v. State, 967 S.W.2d 459, 1998 Tex. App. LEXIS 1684, 1998 WL 121798 (Tex. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

OPINION

HILL, Justice (Assigned).

Larry Gohring appeals his conviction by a jury of two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and three counts of indecency with a child. The jury assessed his punishment at twenty years’ confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division and a $10,000 fine for his conviction under count one; ten years’ confinement under count two; twenty years’ confinement under count three; ten years’ confinement under count four; and five years’ confinement under count five. Gohr-ing contends in seven points of error that the trial court abused its discretion when it granted a reporter’s motion to quash her subpoena and that the trial court erred in: (1) receiving prejudicial hearsay testimony from prosecution witness Sandra Taylor over his timely objection; (2) receiving prejudicial hearsay testimony from witness Marie Woods Petite, over his timely objection; (3) receiving prejudicial hearsay testimony from witness Eunice Contrares over his timely *461 objection; (4) failing to sustain his motion to quash the charging instrument because it appears the offense was barred by limitations; and (5) failing to comply with art. 4495b, § 5.08(g)(10), Tex.Rev.Civ. Stat. Ann. The State, in a single cross-point of error, urges that the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury that the burden of proof on the issue of limitations was by a preponderance of the evidence.

We affirm for the reasons set forth in this opinion.

Gohring asserts in point of error three the trial court erred in receiving prejudicial hearsay testimony from Marie Renee Woods Petite. Petite testified she is a drama therapist and had been employed in that capacity for thirteen years. She said she has a master’s degree from New York University in drama therapy, had post master’s training, and is a registered play therapist. Petite indicated that in April 1992 while working under the supervision of Dr. Martha Kennedy, a licensed psychologist, the Children’s Protective Services (CPS) office in Liberty assigned her to be a therapist for one of Gohring’s daughters, C.G. Petite said she saw C.G. for six sessions and that in talking with C.G. about the alleged abuse, her purpose was to provide psychological treatment for C.G. Petite testified C.G. told her that she had been sexually abused by her father.

Tex.R.CRIM. Evid. 803(4) provides that statements made for purposes of medical diagnosis or treatment are not excluded by the hearsay rule, even though the declarant is available as a witness.

In the ease of this witness, we hold the trial court did not err in admitting this evidence under Rule 803(4) because it would be a reasonable inference that C.G., who was a high school student, would have understood she was seeing Petite for the purpose of medical treatment in connection with the abuse, and that C.G.’s statements to Petite were made for the purpose of medical diagnosis or treatment.

Gohring argues Petite was not a “medical person,” but the trial court could have reasonably determined from the evidence that Petite, as a drama therapist working under the supervision of a licensed psychologist for the purpose of providing psychological treatment, was a “medical person.” In any event, if the statement is made to another for the purpose of medical treatment, the person to whom the statement is made does not necessarily have to be a “medical person.” See Fed.R.Evid. 803(4) advisory committee’s note.

Gohring also suggests the part of the declaration identifying the abuser should have been excluded, apparently on the basis it is not pertinent to medical treatment of the victim. However, it has been held that such testimony is admissible because it is pertinent to medical treatment of the victim. Tissier v. State, 792 S.W.2d 120, 125 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1990, pet. ref'd) (citing United States v. Renville, 779 F.2d 430 (8th Cir.1985)); see also Castoreno v. State, 932 S.W.2d 597, 602 (TexApp.—San Antonio 1996, pet. ref'd); and Fleming v. State, 819 S.W.2d 237, 247 (Tex.App.—Austin 1991, pet. ref'd).

Gohring relies upon the case of United States v. Nick, 604 F.2d 1199 (9th Cir.1979). In Nick, the trial court admitted statements made to a physician by a child who was the victim of sexual assault, but did not allow admission of the child’s statement to the physician as to the identity of the assailant. Id. at 1201-02. In affirming the defendant’s conviction for the offense of sexual assault, the Court held the statement admitted was admissible under Rule 803(4), but was not required to and did not rule on the correctness of the trial court’s ruling excluding the child’s statement identifying the assailant. Id. at 1202. We overrule point of error three.

Gohring contends in point of error four the trial court erred in receiving testimony of a similar nature from Eunice Contrares, the psychotherapist of Gohring’s other daughter, J.G. His arguments under this point are the same as in point three. For the reasons discussed in point three, we overrule point of error four.

Gohring contends in points of error one and two the trial court erred by allowing Sandra Taylor to give hearsay testimony. *462 Sandra Taylor, an employee of CPS, testified on the occasion in question she was in intake and investigation and investigated cases of child abuse and opened cases for ongoing services. She indicated if the complaint brought to her attention were a valid complaint, she would look at things in terms of having the children treated either medically or psychologically. She talked to two of Gohring’s daughters, C.G. and J.G., both of whom indicated their father had sexually abused them. C.G. was deceased at the time of trial.

Gohring objected to Taylor’s statements concerning what his daughters told her about the abuse. The State apparently did not meet the requirements of Tex.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 38.072 (Vernon Pamp.1998), which, under certain circumstances, allows the admission of evidence of statements made to others by victims of enumerated offenses, when the victim is twelve years of age or younger.

Rather, the State relies upon Tex.R.Crim.Evid. 803(4). As previously noted, that rule provides evidence is not excluded by the hearsay rule, even if the declarant is available as a witness, when it is a statement “made for purposes of medical diagnosis or treatment and describing medical history, or past or present symptoms, pain, or sensations, or the inception or general character of the cause or external source thereof insofar as reasonably pertinent to diagnosis or treatment.”

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Bluebook (online)
967 S.W.2d 459, 1998 Tex. App. LEXIS 1684, 1998 WL 121798, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gohring-v-state-texapp-1998.