State v. Newman, 2000-657.

Citation808 A.2d 7
Decision Date13 September 2002
Docket NumberNo. 2000-657.,2000-657.
PartiesThe STATE of New Hampshire v. Steven NEWMAN.
CourtSupreme Court of New Hampshire
808 A.2d 7
The STATE of New Hampshire
v.
Steven NEWMAN.
No. 2000-657.
Supreme Court of New Hampshire.
Argued January 15, 2002.
Opinion Issued September 13, 2002.

Page 8

Philip T. McLaughlin, attorney general (Stephen D. Fuller, assistant attorney general, on the brief and orally), for the State.

Richard E. Samdperil, assistant appellate defender, of Concord, by brief and orally, for the defendant.

Page 9

BROCK, C. J.


The defendant, Steven Newman, was convicted after a jury trial in Superior Court (O'Neill, J.) of aggravated felonious sexual assault against a victim younger than thirteen. See RSA 632-A:2, I (1996). He appeals, arguing that the trial court erred when it: (1) ruled that he could not cross-examine the victim about her knowledge of a friend's recent sexual assault allegations; and (2) allowed a laboratory technician to render an expert opinion about the potential sources of red blood cells found in a vaginal smear. We affirm.

The jury could have found the following facts. On the evening of April 16, 1999, the eight-year-old victim was at home with her mother and the defendant, her stepfather.

Sometime during the night, the victim awoke to find the defendant "start[ing] to bother[]" her. The victim testified that the defendant twice put his finger "down [her] pee pee," and later put his finger in her "bottom."

In the morning, the victim went next door to the home of her friend KP, where she told KP what had happened. KP, in turn, told her mother and her aunt, and KP's mother called the police.

That afternoon, an investigating officer took the victim and the victim's mother to the emergency room at Huggins Hospital in Wolfeboro, where the victim was examined by Dr. Scott Horton. The examination included the use of a "rape kit."

The State's forensic laboratory analyst, Susan Withey, examined the "rape kit" and found an occasional red blood cell on the vaginal smear. Ms. Withey testified on direct examination that there are two reasons red blood cells would be found on a smear: "either the person is menstruating, or there's been some sort of trauma."

The defendant was convicted of aggravated felonious sexual assault for penetrating the victim's vagina with his finger. On appeal, he argues, first, that the trial court erred when it barred him from cross-examining the victim about KP's recent claim that she had been sexually assaulted by her babysitter. We disagree.

The defendant's contention at trial was that the victim had fabricated the sexual assault allegations in order to protect her mother by having him separated from the family. In an effort to prove that the victim knew that allegations of sexual assault could result in his removal from the home, the defendant filed a motion in limine prior to trial to cross-examine the victim about KP's recent allegations of sexual assault. The defendant asserted that, prior to the victim's disclosure of his alleged assault to KP, KP had told the victim that she had been sexually assaulted by her babysitter and that the babysitter was thereafter prevented from having any contact with KP. Thus, on cross-examination, the defendant sought to inquire at trial about the following: (1) that KP made allegations of sexual assault against her babysitter prior to the victim's allegations of...

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