State v. Bahner

Citations

• 2025 Ohio 5230

Syllabus

Rape, gross sexual imposition, child victim, delayed disclosure, social worker, lay testimony, manifest weight of the evidence. Judgment affirmed. The social worker testified as a lay, not expert, witness. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by allowing the social worker to testify that delayed disclosure is common in child-sexual-abuse cases and to explain why it is common. The witness's testimony was based on her perceptions as a trained sexual-abuse investigator and was helpful for the jury to understand why a sexual-abuse victim may delay disclosure, as required for lay opinion testimony under Evid.R. 701. Further, the social worker did not offer an opinion as to the truth of the victim's disclosure, which would have been improper. The weight of the evidence supports the conviction. The victim's testimony was not so incredible as to cast doubt on the conviction and require a new trial. The jury did not lose its way in resolving conflicts in the victim's testimony. The case is not an exceptional case in which a manifest miscarriage of justice occurred.