State v. Phillips

Connecticut Appellate Court·Decided October 13, 2015·No. AC37183·Published

Opinion

****************************************************** The ‘‘officially released’’ date that appears near the beginning of each opinion is the date the opinion will be published in the Connecticut Law Journal or the date it was released as a slip opinion. The operative date for the beginning of all time periods for filing postopinion motions and petitions for certification is the ‘‘officially released’’ date appearing in the opinion. In no event will any such motions be accepted before the ‘‘officially released’’ date.

All opinions are subject to modification and technical correction prior to official publication in the Connecticut Reports and Connecticut Appellate Reports. In the event of discrepancies between the electronic version of an opinion and the print version appearing in the Connecticut Law Journal and subsequently in the Connecticut Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports, the latest print version is to be considered authoritative.

The syllabus and procedural history accompanying the opinion as it appears on the Commission on Official Legal Publications Electronic Bulletin Board Service and in the Connecticut Law Journal and bound volumes of official reports are copyrighted by the Secretary of the State, State of Connecticut, and may not be reproduced and distributed without the express written permission of the Commission on Official Legal Publications, Judicial Branch, State of Connecticut. ******************************************************

STATE OF CONNECTICUT v. TIMOTHY PHILLIPS (AC 37183)

Gruendel, Sheldon and West, Js.

Argued April 8—officially released October 13, 2015

(Appeal from Superior Court, judicial district of Hartford, Dewey, J.)

John L. Cordani, Jr., assigned counsel, for the appellant (defendant). Kathryn W. Bare, assistant state’s attorney, with whom, on the brief, were Gail P. Hardy, state’s attorney , and David L. Zagaja, senior assistant state’s attorney , for the appellee (state).

Opinion

SHELDON, J. The defendant, Timothy Phillips, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after 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), arising from an incident involving a minor victim, K.1 On appeal, the defendant claims that the trial court erred by (1) failing to admit, as substantive evidence, certain statements by mandated reporters of child abuse to the Department of Children and Families (department) concerning K’s character for untruthfulness, which were set forth in a department report concerning its investigation of the incident; (2) failing to disclose evidence to the defense that K had also made allegations of sexual assault against another individual, which assertedly would have aided the defendant in preparing and presenting his defense at trial. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The following facts, which reasonably could have been found by the jury, are necessary to our consideration of the defendant’s claims. At the time of the incident , K, a twelve year old girl with cognitive limitations,2 was living with her grandparents in Windsor. The defendant befriended K’s grandfather in 2009 or 2010 when they met at a car dealership in Windsor. Thereafter, the defendant and the victim’s grandfather worked on cars together, and the defendant occasionally spent time at the home of K and her grandparents.

On Saturday, June 18, 2011, the defendant asked K’s grandfather if he could take K to a family picnic. K’s grandfather felt comfortable with the defendant, and so he agreed. The defendant, however, did not take K to a family picnic. Instead, he took her out to eat at a Chinese restaurant in Manchester, where K’s special education paraprofessional, Paula Glofka, was dining with her family. K approached Glofka, then hugged her and told her that she was at the restaurant with a friend. When Glofka introduced herself to the defendant, she noted that he appeared to be ‘‘tense or nervous.’’

After dinner, the defendant took K to his trailer in Hartford. There, the defendant sexually assaulted K on his couch as they watched a movie. The defendant told K that he liked her and he ‘‘wanted to do stuff to [her].’’ The defendant first removed K’s pants and underwear and performed oral sex on her. The defendant then inserted his penis into her vagina and anus. K told the defendant that it hurt, and that she wanted him to stop, but he did not stop. After assaulting K, the defendant brought her home. K did not tell her grandparents what had happened. The next day, the defendant returned to K’s house, and he stayed for a short time.

On the following Monday morning, shortly after school started, K approached Glofka and told her that she had had ‘‘S-E-X’’ with the defendant. Glofka promptly notified the school social worker, Karen Henry, who contacted the department. In Henry’s presence , K drew a picture of two stick figures, representing herself and the defendant, to indicate where on her body the defendant had touched her with his penis. A medical examination was performed that same day at the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center by Dr. Zoe Casey. Casey discovered a linear, one centimeter tear on the interior of K’s vagina that was consistent with sexual intercourse. K reported to Casey that she was experiencing burning with urination, and that she was suffering from a bitten nipple.

Thereafter, K underwent a forensic interview at the Greater Hartford Children’s Advocacy Center at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center. A video recording of the interview was shown to the jury at trial. In the interview, K gave a full description of the defendant’s assaultive conduct toward her in his trailer. She also described the trailer. K stated that the exterior of the trailer was white with blue and brown stripes. As for the interior of the trailer, K stated that the couch where the defendant had assaulted her was red and of the sort that ‘‘flips back into a bed.’’ Opposite the red couch, she stated, there was a television and another couch, which formed an ‘‘aisle’’ in the center of the main living area. Portions of K’s interview varied from her testimony at trial. In the interview, K alleged, for the first time, that the defendant had assaulted her a second time, on Sunday, June 19, at her home. The police, however, were unable to substantiate that allegation, and K later testified that she did not in fact have contact with the defendant after Saturday, June 18.

Detective Josh Lewis of the Hartford Police Department was assigned to investigate the assaults. Lewis drove K and her grandmother around the area in Hartford where he believed that the assaults may have occurred, based on K’s account. K directed Lewis to the defendant’s trailer, which was parked behind an industrial building located on North Main Street. The appearance of the defendant’s trailer was consistent with K’s previous description of it.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

State v. Phillips, (Colo. Ct. App. 2015).

State v. Phillips (State v. Phillips) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Brady v. Maryland
373 U.S. 83 (Supreme Court, 1963)
United States v. Bagley
473 U.S. 667 (Supreme Court, 1985)
Pennsylvania v. Ritchie
480 U.S. 39 (Supreme Court, 1987)
Kyles v. Whitley
514 U.S. 419 (Supreme Court, 1995)
State v. Falcon
876 A.2d 547 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2005)
State v. Kemah
957 A.2d 852 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2008)
State v. Palozie
334 A.2d 468 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1973)
State v. CARACOGLIA
38 A.3d 226 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2012)
State v. Coleman
37 A.3d 713 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2012)
State v. Reynolds
983 A.2d 874 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2009)
People v. Stevey
209 Cal. App. 4th 1400 (California Court of Appeal, 2012)
State v. Esposito
471 A.2d 949 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1984)
State v. Harris
631 A.2d 309 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1993)
State v. Francis
836 A.2d 1191 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2003)
State v. Skakel
888 A.2d 985 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2006)
State v. Jaynes
650 A.2d 1261 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 1994)
State v. Leduc
670 A.2d 1309 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 1996)
State v. Francis
800 A.2d 574 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2002)
State v. Boyd
872 A.2d 477 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2005)