State v. Freddy T.

Citations

• 200 Conn. App. 577

Syllabus

Convicted, after a jury trial, of two counts of risk of injury to a child in violation of statute (§ 53-21 (a) (1) & (2)), stemming from his alleged sexual abuse of his minor child, the defendant appealed to this court. Held that the trial court abused its discretion by admitting into evidence portions of the video recording of a forensic interview with the defen- dant's child conducted by C, a licensed clinical social worker, because the child's statements failed to satisfy the requirements of the medical diagnosis and treatment exception to the rule against hearsay as set forth in the Code of Evidence (§ 8-3 (5)): the state failed to adequately demonstrate that the statements were reasonably pertinent to obtaining medical treatment as the state could not demonstrate that the child understood C's interview to be for medical treatment, the child had received medical care prior to the forensic interview and the record did not establish that the forensic interview was used to inform the subsequent medical examination of the child, and the basic purpose of the interview was for an investigative purpose; moreover, the court's error was not harmless and substantially affected the jury's verdict, as there was a lack of corroboration in the form of witnesses to the alleged sexual abuse or physical evidence, the child's trial testimony was at times contradictory but also inconsistent with statements made during the forensic interview, and the fact that the jury deadlocked on a count of sexual assault in the first degree supported the conclusion that the admission of portions of the forensic interview played a significant role in the jury's verdict of guilty of two counts of risk of injury to a child. Argued May 11—officially released October 6, 2020