Child Molestation charge DISMISSED one week before jury trial (2022)

Defense Counsel:

Charges: Child Molestation

State’s Case:

Defendant was arrested for Child Molestation when his estranged teenaged son alleged that, from the age of about 4 to 7, every time he visited Defendant, after every bath, Defendant would touch his penis in a sexual manner. His mother recalled that throughout this period, the child suffered from upset stomach and vomiting every time he came home from visits with Defendant. When Counsel could not convince the State to dismiss the warrants, Defendant was indicted and the State’s plea offer was 7 years to serve in prison, followed by 13 years on probation, and a lifetime on the Sex Offender Registry.

Judgement:

Defendant adamantly denied the allegations. He passed a polygraph test. A psychosexual evaluation showed he had no sexual attraction to children. Counsel had more than a dozen witnesses prepared to testify that Defendant had good character for honesty and appropriateness with children, including his own. Family and close friends said there was no evidence that abuse was happening. Everyone believed that conflict between Defendant and the child’s mother, the child’s alienation from Defendant, and the mother’s influence over the child, were behind the false allegations. Counsel gathered extensive evidence documenting that history. By visiting the home and studying the location of the alleged abuse, Counsel was able to prepare testimony and exhibits to show a jury how ridiculous it would be for Defendant to abuse the child in such a high-traffic, exposed area. Investigation of the child’s mother revealed that she was a police officer with a passion for handling child abuse cases, which Counsel believed impeached her credibility and showed she might have brought work home with her, exposing her son to thoughts and language of victimization.

Counsel consulted two expert psychologists who were prepared to testify about critical mistakes in the forensic interview of the child; significant evidence of improper influence on the child through the family history and during the police investigation; and substantial evidence that the child’s conduct and behavior were inconsistent with abuse. Also, a forensic pathologist was prepared to testify that the child’s stomach problems were consistent with poor eating and bathroom habits, not with abuse-induced stress.

After indictment, Counsel subpoenaed the child’s school, medical, and therapy records, and overcame motions to quash by convincing the Court that, in Child Molestation cases, these records were highly relevant, and that Defendant’s right to a fair trial trumped the child’s privacy rights. Indeed, Counsel found that the records here contained critical evidence supporting Defendant’s innocence.

Counsel also began battling the State on numerous pretrial motions, including a Motion to Admit Expert Testimony about Defendant’s Psychosexual Evaluation. The Court granted the motion, finding that evidence showing Defendant was not sexually attracted to children was relevant to rebut the State’s allegation that Defendant committed the offense for sexual gratification; and that the testing met the standard for admissibility set by Harper v. State, 249 Ga. 519 (1982).

A week before jury selection, the State approached Counsel about resolving the case without a trial, ultimately agreeing to dismiss the Child Molestation charge, to have Defendant plead as a First Offender to Cruelty to Children with 5 years to serve on probation - all of which meant no prison, no conviction on Defendant’s record, immediate record restriction, and no Sex Offender Registry.

In wrapping up the case, the State told Counsel, “Y’all do things differently than other lawyers.” Counsel took it as a compliment.