State v. Allen

59 A.3d 351, 140 Conn. App. 423, 2013 WL 264804, 2013 Conn. App. LEXIS 39
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedJanuary 29, 2013
DocketAC 33528
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 59 A.3d 351 (State v. Allen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Appellate Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Allen, 59 A.3d 351, 140 Conn. App. 423, 2013 WL 264804, 2013 Conn. App. LEXIS 39 (Colo. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

[425]*425 Opinion

ESPINOSA, J.

The defendant, Edward J. Allen, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered following a jury trial, of three counts of sexual assault in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-70 (a) (2) and three counts of risk of injury to a child in violation of General Statutes § 53-21 (a) (2).1 The defendant claims that (1) the evidence did not support the jury’s verdict, (2) the trial court improperly admitted evidence of prior uncharged sexual misconduct and (3) the court, following an in camera review of certain counseling records of the victim,2 improperly failed to disclose such records to him. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The jury reasonably could have found the following facts. The victim, along with her mother and her sister, began to reside with the defendant in Connecticut sometime in 1999, when the victim was approximately six or seven years of age. Beginning in 2000, several incidents of a sexual nature involving the defendant and the victim occurred. In one instance, the victim had a conversation with the defendant about a movie. The defendant discussed different aspects of male and female anatomy, and stated that men insert their penises into women for fun. The defendant proceeded to touch the victim’s vagina over her clothing.

In another instance, the victim entered the defendant’s bedroom to speak with him. The defendant played a pornographic movie on the television and [426]*426began massaging the victim, ultimately rubbing her vagina over her clothing. Despite the victim’s protests, the defendant removed her underwear and inserted a vibrator into her vagina.

In yet another incident, the defendant called the victim into his bedroom where he began massaging her. The defendant exposed his penis and caused the victim to perform oral sex on him until he ejaculated in her mouth.

Days later, the defendant entered the victim’s bedroom, sat on the victim’s bed with her and began touching her under her pajamas. The defendant removed the victim’s pajamas and underwear, exposed his penis and partially inserted his penis into her vagina. Unable to fully penetrate the victim, who was crying and in pain, the defendant pulled himself off the victim and left the bedroom. The defendant told the victim, “don’t tell anyone because I can hurt you and your family.”

In still another incident, the victim entered the defendant’s bedroom and began looking through his dresser. The defendant discovered the victim in the bedroom, guided her to the bed and inserted a vibrator into her vagina. Once again, the defendant warned the victim not to tell anyone about what had occurred. Additional facts will be set forth as necessary.

I

First, the defendant claims that the evidence did not support the jury’s verdict with regard to any of the six counts of which he was found guilty. We disagree.

“The standard of review [that] we [ordinarily] apply to a claim of insufficient evidence is well established. In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a criminal conviction we apply a two-part test. First, we construe the evidence in the light most favorable to sustaining the verdict. Second, we determine whether [427]*427upon the facts so construed and the inferences reasonably drawn therefrom the [finder of fact] reasonably could have concluded that the cumulative force of the evidence established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. ... In evaluating evidence, the trier of fact is not required to accept as dispositive those inferences that are consistent with the defendant’s innocence. . . . The trier may draw whatever inferences from the evidence or facts established by the evidence it deems to be reasonable and logical. . . . This does not require that each subordinate conclusion established by or inferred from the evidence, or even from other inferences, be proved beyond a reasonable doubt . . . because this court has held that a jury’s factual inferences that support a guilty verdict need only be reasonable. . . .

“[A]s we have often noted, proof beyond a reasonable doubt does not mean proof beyond all possible doubt . . . nor does proof beyond a reasonable doubt require acceptance of every hypothesis of innocence posed by the defendant that, had it been found credible by the trier, would have resulted in an acquittal. . . . On appeal, we do not ask whether there is a reasonable view of the evidence that would support a reasonable hypothesis of innocence. We ask, instead, whether there is a reasonable view of the evidence that supports the jury’s verdict of guilty.” (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Hedge, 297 Conn. 621, 656-57, 1 A.3d 1051 (2010).

In challenging the sufficiency of the evidence, the defendant does not draw our attention to any specific essential elements of the crimes of which he stands convicted. Nor does the defendant dispute that the victim’s trial testimony, if deemed to be credible evidence, satisfied the essential elements of the crimes at issue. Rather, the defendant argues that the jury could not reasonably have relied on the victim’s incriminating [428]*428testimony regarding the events at issue because the victim testified that, for her, there was more than one reality and that she did not know the difference between reality and a nightmare. Also, the defendant argues that the jury could not reasonably have relied on the victim’s testimony because the evidence reflected numerous and significant inconsistencies between the victim’s trial testimony and statements that the victim made during an August 3,2006 interview, a videotape of which was admitted into evidence.

The victim was cross-examined vigorously by the defendant’s attorney. The defendant’s attorney asked her about the differences between her statements on August 3,2006, and her trial testimony. As the defendant argues, part of the victim’s testimony during cross-examination could be interpreted to mean that she has difficulty differentiating between reality and her dreams. Upon further questioning, however, the victim testified, “The things that I’ve testified I know are real. I’m not going to say something that I’m not sure if it’s just a vivid dream or my memory trying to tell me this is real. Everything I’ve testified is real, is true, is reality.” The victim stated that she knew that the events about which she testified were real “[b]ecause every day it goes through my mind and I know it’s real.” With regard to one incident of alleged abuse, the defendant’s attorney asked the victim if she could be certain that the events occurred or whether it was a dream. The victim stated, “I can tell this is reality, not a dream.” In responding to an inquiry about her videotaped statement, the victim testified: “At the time, it was reality also . . . .”

The record reflects that the defendant’s attorney amply cross-examined the victim concerning her recollection of relevant events, the differences between her trial testimony and her earlier videotaped statement, as well as her ability to recall past events accurately. [429]*429These topics were a subject of the defendant’s closing argument to the jury.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
59 A.3d 351, 140 Conn. App. 423, 2013 WL 264804, 2013 Conn. App. LEXIS 39, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-allen-connappct-2013.