State v. Wallace Cable

Syllabus

The defendant was found guilty on one count of first-degree child molestation sexual assault. On appeal, the defendant claimed that the trial justice erred when he permitted the state to introduce into evidence multiple out-of-court statements concerning what the complaining witness told a treating physician about the alleged charged and uncharged sexual assaults. The Supreme Court concluded that but for a single statement, the defendant failed to preserve the hearsay arguments for appeal. With respect to the one statement that was preserved concerning the defendant's fear of imprisonment, the Supreme Court concluded that the trial justice did not abuse his discretion in admitting the hearsay statement pursuant to Rhode Island Rule of Evidence 803(4) and that the statement was cumulative of the testimony adduced from the complaining witness. Accordingly, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of conviction.