State v. Juan J.

Citations

• 344 Conn. 1

Syllabus

Convicted of sexual assault in the first degree, attempt to commit sexual assault in the first degree and risk of injury to a child in connection with the alleged sexual abuse of his daughter, P, on two separate occa- sions, the defendant appealed to this court. Before the defendant's trial, the state filed a notice of intent to present evidence that the defendant had inappropriately touched P in a sexual manner multiple times beyond the two charged instances. The defendant objected to the admission of such uncharged misconduct evidence, claiming, inter alia, that he was denying that the alleged sexual abuse ever occurred and that the jury could consider the uncharged misconduct as evidence of a propensity on his part to engage in sexual misconduct. The state indicated that it did not intend to offer the uncharged misconduct evidence as propensity evidence but intended to offer it under the Connecticut Code of Evidence (§ 4-5 (c)) for the purposes of proving intent, a common plan or scheme, and to complete the story of the defendant's pattern of conduct. The court overruled the defendant's objection, and P testified not only about the two charged incidents but about numerous other instances in which the defendant had allegedly touched her inappropriately. P specifically In accordance with our policy of protecting the privacy interests of alleged victims of sexual abuse and the crime of risk of injury to a child, we decline to use the defendant's full name or to identify the complainant or others through whom the complainant's identity could be ascertained. See General Statutes § 54-86e. 1 2 JULY, 2022 344 Conn. 1 State v. Juan J. testified that the defendant had touched her inappropriately more than ten times and that he touched the inside of her vagina, her butt, and her breasts. After P testified, the court instructed the jury that P's testimony regarding these additional instances could be considered only as proof that the defendant had the intent to engage in th