STATE V. BATANGAN
71 Haw. 552 (1990)
NATURE OF THE CASE: Batangan (D) appealed a judgment, which allowed expert testimony that
was objected to by D and merely showed the expert believed the victim.
FACTS: D was accused of having sexual contact with his daughter. Complainant alleged that
when she was 6 or 7 years old, on four or five occasions, D performed sexual acts on her.
She could not provide any specific dates or reference points in time. Nor were the acts
described specific as to one incident or another. There was no evidence of physical injury
and no third-party witnesses to these incidents. She did not report these incidents until
several months after the occurrences. She first reported to school authorities. When no
injuries were found, she admitted that she had lied about the physical abuse, but instead
accused D of sexually abusing her. She subsequently recanted her allegations of sexual
abuse. At trial, she testified that she had been sexually abused by D. D was acquitted of
the rape charge, and a mistrial (due to a hung jury) was declared on the sexual abuse
charge. At the second trial, the State presented Dr. John Bond as an expert witness in the
field of clinical psychology with a subspecialty in the treatment of sexually abused
children. Dr. Bond had evaluated Complainant on one occasion three weeks prior to the second
trial. Dr. Bond testified as to how he evaluates whether a child is telling the truth about
being sexually abused. He then implicitly testified that Complainant was believable and that
she had been abused by D. D objected to the admission of Dr. Bond's testimony. It was
admitted and D was convicted of first degree sexual abuse. D appealed.
ISSUE:
RULE OF LAW:
HOLDING AND DECISION:
LEGAL ANALYSIS:
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