State v. Reid

2012 VT 65, 59 A.3d 711, 192 Vt. 356, 2012 WL 3239303, 2012 Vt. LEXIS 62
CourtSupreme Court of Vermont
DecidedAugust 10, 2012
Docket2011-082
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 2012 VT 65 (State v. Reid) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Vermont primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Reid, 2012 VT 65, 59 A.3d 711, 192 Vt. 356, 2012 WL 3239303, 2012 Vt. LEXIS 62 (Vt. 2012).

Opinions

Reiber, C.J.

¶ 1. Defendant Richard Reid appeals from his conviction for aggravated sexual assault in violation of 13 V.S.A. § 3253(a)(8). Defendant asserts that the trial court committed reversible error in admitting hearsay evidence under Vermont Rule of Evidence 804a because the State failed to establish that the time, content, and circumstances of the child-victim’s statements provided substantial indicia of trustworthiness. We affirm.

¶ 2. In the summer of 2008, when she was six years old, the child, A.V., made statements to her neighbors indicating that defendant had sexually abused her. On August 26, a neighbor filed a report with the Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF). The following day, a DCF investigator and a police officer went to A.V.’s school to question her about the alleged abuse. The investigators found that there was sufficient evidence that defendant had sexually abused A.V., and she was transported to the hospital for further examination. At the hospital, an experienced and trained Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) questioned A.V. and conducted a brief physical examination. Defendant was charged with aggravated sexual assault on August 28. In October 2008, the State provided notice that it intended to offer into evidence hearsay statements made by A.V. through various witnesses pursuant to V.R.E. 804a. On November 19, 2009, pursuant to Rule 804a, the court held a pretrial hearing to determine the admissibility of the statements. The following evidence was presented at the hearing.

¶ 3. A.V. first disclosed the alleged sexual abuse by defendant to her friend and neighbor, Ariel. Ariel testified that during the summer of 2008, while riding bikes with A.V., A.V. told her that defendant “sticks it in her butt and in her mouth, and that the white stuff makes people stronger and that the white stuff gets inside her.” She also testified that at one point she noticed a bruise on A.V.’s head. When she asked A.V. about it, A.V. told her [359]*359that it was from defendant “hitting her head off the headboard when she told him no.”

¶ 4. Ariel’s sister, Tammy, testified that A.V. had told her about the abuse while the three of them were sitting on the porch. A.V. said that if she told her mother, defendant would “give it to her even harder.” Tammy noticed that A.Y. looked scared and was almost crying. Tammy further testified that she remembered one instance when A.V. held her crotch while playing and complained that she was sore.

¶ 5. Leola, another one of A.V.’s neighbors, testified that A.V. often played with her daughter, and on several occasions, she took the girls to play at her mother’s house. Leola stated that while at her mother’s house A.V. ran around pulling on the crotch area of her pants. When A.V. was asked why, she said that defendant “had stuck his fingers in her too-too.” Leola also testified that A.V. did not want to be home alone with defendant, and that she would “break down crying and screaming.” Leola also testified that A.V. had been exposed to some of the neighbors’ daughters fighting. The girls argued loudly in public and used graphic language that was sexual in nature. One of the girls taunted the other by accusing her of sleeping with her own father.

¶ 6. Leola’s cousin, Christie, was the last of A.V.’s neighbors to testify at the hearing. Christie testified that Leola urged A.V. to tell Christie her “secret.” A.V. seemed very upset and scared, and looked at the ground. A.V. disclosed that defendant had touched her and told her not to tell anyone. She said defendant “put it . . . in the back.” She also stated that defendant put it in her vagina, for which- she had a certain name, though Christie could not recall what it was. After, defendant gave A.V. candy or a popsicle. The following day, on August, 26, 2008, Christie filed a report with DCF.

¶ 7. A.V.’s mother testified that A.V. had previously complained that she was experiencing a burning sensation when she urinated. She took A.V. to the pediatrician who did not find any infection, but asked whether A.V. might have been abused or molested. At the time, A.V.’s mother did not suspect anything, and answered “no.” There were no other physical or medical signs of abuse. A.V.’s mother also reported that she had previously noticed that A.V. had a bruise on her head. She asked A.V. about it, but A.V. was evasive, claiming she could not remember what had happened. [360]*360Defendant told A.V.’s mother that A.Y. had been playing by the windowsill and had banged her head.

¶ 8. The DCF investigator testified that she and a police officer conducted an interview with A.V. at her school on August 27, 2008. The DCF investigator, explained that she was not a principal investigator for DCF, but had attended a few training sessions on interviewing techniques for children. The court listened to the recording of the interview, and found the following.

¶ 9. The interview began around 10:30 a.m. and ended after the school day concluded. They took several breaks, including one for lunch. Before lunch, the investigators asked fairly general questions, mostly related to A.V. and her family, in order to allow A.V. to become comfortable with the interviewers. A.V. seemed “personable, engaging, and animated,” but repeatedly asked to return to her classroom. When the interviewers asked about defendant, A.V. became more withdrawn and actively changed the subject to avoid talking about him. She appeared distracted and her responses were “flighty.”

¶ 10. The investigators attempted to get A.V. to discuss defendant by prompting her in a number of ways. They asked her about what she told her neighbors, but A.V. remained evasive. They occasionally reminded A.V. that “it was good to tell the truth,” but despite their efforts, A.V. continued to deny that she had been abused.

¶ 11. The morning interview lasted approximately an hour and a half. During lunch, the DCF investigator conferred with her district director, and the police officer spoke with AY.’s neighbors. Both concluded that, given the specificity of the reports and others’ statements that defendant had threatened A.V. so that she would not say anything, A.V. could be at risk of further abuse and therefore the interview should resume in the afternoon.

¶ 12. The interview with A.V. continued after lunch with “more pointed questions.” The investigators told A.V. that they had spoken with her neighbors, they “knew something was going on at home,” and again, they asked her “what she had told Ariel.” A.V. became more uncomfortable. She put her head down and was hesitant to talk. She continued to ask if she could return to her classroom. Eventually, A.V. described being sexually assaulted by defendant. Specifically, A.V. described a purple bottle of oil that defendant kept by the bed and used to “lubricate” his “too too.” She also stated that when she was five years old “it hurt worse” [361]*361and she “screamed.” A.V. discussed particular instances of defendant’s sexual abuse with graphic detail and stated that she was concerned that defendant would find out.

¶ 13. The interview concluded at the end of the school day. The investigators found that there was sufficient evidence that defendant had sexually abused A.V. and she was transported to the hospital for a medical examination, where her mother joined her. The SANE nurse questioned A.Y. further and conducted a brief physical examination. Prior to the examination, the DCF investigator provided the nurse with a brief summary of AY.’s statements from earlier in the day. At first, A.V.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2012 VT 65, 59 A.3d 711, 192 Vt. 356, 2012 WL 3239303, 2012 Vt. LEXIS 62, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-reid-vt-2012.