State v. Ainsworth

Summary

The Oregon Court of Appeals held that the trial court did not err in admitting testimony concerning the continuum of disclosure in child sexual abuse cases. The court held that post-evidence amendments expanding the date ranges in three sexual-abuse counts violated the defendant’s rights under Article VII (Amended), section 5(3), of the Oregon Constitution because the state did not establish that the amended factual allegations had been presented to the grand jury. The convictions on Counts 11, 12, and 13 were reversed and remanded for resentencing, while the remaining convictions were affirmed.

Holdings

1. When the state amends an indictment after presenting its case-in-chief and the amendment raises a possible variance between the evidence at trial and the factual proof presented to the grand jury, the court analyzes the claim under the variance framework. The state must prove that the defendant was tried on the offense indicted by the grand jury; because the state failed to establish that the conduct supporting the convictions had been presented to the grand jury, the amendments created an impermissible variance under Article VII (Amended), section 5(3), of the Oregon Constitution.
2. The trial court did not err by admitting testimony concerning delayed disclosure, incomplete or inaccurate statements, recantations, and forensic-interview protocols without additional scientific foundation when the testimony was based on research and guidelines within the scientific validity established in State v. Perry and concerned disclosure phenomena relevant to assessing credibility.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court violated Article VII (Amended), section 5(3), of the Oregon Constitution by permitting the state, after its case-in-chief, to amend the date ranges in Counts 11, 12, and 13 without proving that the factual theory supporting the amended charges had been presented to the grand jury.
2. Whether the trial court erred by admitting expert testimony concerning the continuum of disclosure, including delayed, incomplete, inaccurate, or inconsistent disclosures and forensic-interview protocols, without additional scientific foundation.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded