State v. Robert R.

Citations

• 340 Conn. 69

Syllabus

Convicted of sexual assault in the first degree in connection with the sexual abuse of M, the stepsister of the defendant's girlfriend, S, the defendant appealed. At trial, M testified that the defendant had sexually assaulted her on four occasions, the first three of which occurred when M was a minor and the defendant was in his twenties. The fourth incident, which led to the defendant's conviction, occurred when M was eighteen years old. With respect to the latter incident, M testified that she was home alone when the defendant knocked on the door and that, after she asked him to leave, the defendant entered the home, grabbed her arm, pushed her toward the living room couch, and sexually assaulted her. M further testified that, after the defendant was startled by an outside noise, he went into the kitchen, where he ejaculated into a paper towel that he threw into a garbage can. At trial, the defendant denied that he ever sexually assaulted M, but he admitted to having consensual sex with her during that incident. He also denied that he ejaculated into a paper towel and threw it in the garbage. N, a forensic biologist, testified at trial regarding tests she conducted on the paper towel, which M had provided to the police shortly after the incident. N testified that those tests revealed the presence of semen but were negative for spermatozoa. P, a forensic science examiner, testified that tests she performed on the paper towel revealed the presence of the defendant's skin cells but were inconclusive as to whether his sperm cells were also present. Neither N nor P could indicate how the various substances came to be on the towel. During closing arguments, defense counsel focused on attacking M's credibility and exposing her motive to falsely accuse the defendant. Specifically, defense counsel attempted to present the defen- In accordance with our policy of protecting the privacy interests of the victims of sexual assault and the crime of risk of injury to a child, we