VAIDIK, Judge.
This case involves an allegation of sexual molestation for which there was no evidence other than a child's testimony. In 2010, Jerry L. Kindred was convicted of one count of Class A felony child molesting. He was sentenced to thirty-five years in prison, with five years suspended to probation. Kindred filed an appeal but later sought a stay of that appeal to pursue post-conviction relief, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. Kindred now appeals the denial of his request for post-conviction relief and reinstates his direct appeal utilizing the Davis-Hatton procedure.
Kindred met Barbara Grissom in 2001. Barbara is the biological grandmother and adoptive mother of A.G. Barbara's ex-husband, David, was A.G.'s step-grandfather and is her adoptive father. Barbara and David were divorced in 2002, and Kindred and Barbara began living together shortly thereafter. Barbara and David later attempted to reconcile, which ended badly, and A.G. struggled with this. As a result, the relationship between Barbara and her family was strained. Kindred's relationship with Barbara's family was similarly rocky.
After Barbara and David's divorce, A.G. lived primarily with David, but she had weekly visits with Barbara. In the summer of 2008, nine-year-old A.G. spent six consecutive weeks with Barbara. During that time, A.G. shared a bed with Barbara and sixty-four-year-old Kindred because she was scared to sleep alone. Barbara would sleep in the middle of the bed, with A.G. on one side and Kindred on the other. Barbara often woke up around 3:30 in the morning to prepare for her shift at a local restaurant that began at 4:30. Before getting ready, Barbara would wrap A.G. in blankets and put a blanket in between the still-sleeping A.G. and Kindred to keep A.G. from rolling in her sleep. Once Barbara was dressed, she would wake A.G. and drive her to the babysitter's house before going to work.
In late June, when the visit ended, A.G.'s biological mother, Christy, picked A.G. up from Barbara and Kindred's house. While Christy and A.G. were in the car, A.G. asked Christy if Barbara would live with David again if Barbara had nowhere else to live. Christy asked A.G. why she had asked such a question. A.G. told Christy that when she and Kindred were alone in bed together, Kindred put his hands down her panties. Christy told David that A.G. had been molested. They contacted law enforcement and said that A.G. had accused Kindred of touching her.
Don Fish, a caseworker for Greene County Child Protective Services (CPS), and Julie Martin, a sex-crimes investigator employed by the Greene County Prosecutor's Office, conducted forensic interviews of A.G. A.G. told Fish and Martin that Kindred had put his finger in her vagina more than once.
Kindred was represented at trial by Ronald Chapman ("trial counsel"). The State's first witness was Martin, the prosecutor's sex-crimes investigator. Martin described her role in determining whether charges were filed when a sex crime was alleged:
Tr. p. 350. At that point, trial counsel objected on relevancy grounds. Id. at 351. The objection was overruled. The State circled back to the issue:
Id.
Martin went on to testify that in this case, she decided to file charges after speaking with A.G. on three occasions. Id. at 356. When asked what she had learned over the course of her investigation, Martin replied, "We learned that [A.G.] had been molested by ... Jerry Kindred." Id. at 358. Martin said that "A.G. told us that Jerry Kindred had put his finger in her vagina on more than one occasion." Id. at 363. Martin also testified that no medical examination of A.G. was conducted because "A.G. said that the last time it had happened was a couple of weeks prior to her telling[,] which was on June 21," and because the alleged molestation had occurred approximately two weeks earlier, "they wouldn't find anything anyway[,] the vagina heals very quickly." Id. at 365. Martin also testified about her interview with Kindred. Martin said that Kindred denied the allegations but "[corroborated] everything [A.G.] had told us other than the touching." Id. at 381.
When asked specifically about A.G., Martin testified that A.G.'s "story has been
When A.G. took the stand, the prosecutor asked, "Why are you here?" A.G. responded: "Because Jerry Kindred sexually abused me." Id. at 402. When the prosecutor remarked that A.G. had used "a pretty big word for a fifth grader," A.G. replied, "Well I know it is not specific to say just abuse, or know [sic] that he sexually abused me so I put that word there." Id. A.G. denied that anyone had told her to use the terms "sexual abuse." Id.
A.G. said that when she stayed with Barbara, Jerry touched her vagina, "sometimes rough and sometimes gentle." Id. at 415. When asked how long Kindred would "keep his finger in there," A.G. responded, "I don't know, 15 or 10 minutes maybe." Id. at 418. A.G. testified that she did not call for Barbara because she was too scared and because she "[thought] there was a gun in the room."
Id. at 420.
CPS caseworker Fish also testified about the investigation. Fish elaborated on Martin's response about seeking medical treatment for A.G.: "I attended a training session ... and during that training [it was] explained to us that most evidence is gone within 72 hours, [so] there is no need to do the examination." Id. at 433-34. Fish also relayed A.G.'s statement — initially made to Christy, who told David, who reported it to Fish — that "she had been touched." Id. at 438-39. Similarly, Fish testified that Christy had informed him that A.G. "had indicated that she had been touched." Id. at 439. Fish also testified about A.G.'s demeanor, describing A.G. as "matter-of-fact." Id. at 440, 449. He also said that A.G.'s demeanor before and after talking to the investigators was the same. When asked by the State if A.G. had indicated specifically that Kindred touched her on June 21, 2008, Fish said, "She indicated that she had been in Worthington, had been in a bed with Jerry Kindred and that he had reached over and had placed his finger inside her vagina." Id. at 448.
The State then sought to introduce into evidence the audio recording of Kindred's interview with Fish and Martin. Without objection from Kindred's trial counsel, the
State's Ex. 1, p. 27-30 (emphases added).
Finally, Fish testified that he was trained to identify signs that a child has been "coached," including providing rehearsed answers, repeating answers, and an inability to provide details about the incident. Tr. p. 435-36. Fish stated twice that he did not believe A.G. had been coached. Id. at 449, 470. Barbara, Christy, and David also testified and repeated what A.G. had said about the alleged molestation. Id. at 500, 525, 551. David, however, testified that he had not specifically asked A.G. about the allegations because he knew that she would tell the truth and "wouldn't lie." Id. at 553, 555.
Kindred now appeals the denial of his request for post-conviction relief and reinstates his direct appeal.
Kindred raises several direct appeal and post-conviction claims, one of which we find dispositive of his appeal. Accordingly, we address only that issue, which is: did the admission of certain evidence, including hearsay and vouching testimony, deny Kindred a fair trial and therefore constitute fundamental error?
With one exception, Kindred did not object to the admission of the evidence he now challenges on appeal. The single issue preserved for appeal is Kindred's relevancy objection to Martin's testimony regarding her role in filing charges at the prosecutor's office. We review the admission of that evidence for an abuse of discretion. Kimbrough v. State, 911 N.E.2d 621, 631 (Ind.Ct.App.2009) (citations omitted). An abuse of discretion occurs when the trial court's ruling is clearly against the logic, facts, and circumstances presented. Id. We do not reweigh the evidence, and we consider conflicting evidence most favorable to the trial court's ruling. Collins v. State, 822 N.E.2d 214, 218 (Ind.Ct. App.2005), trans. denied.
As to all of Kindred's other contentions, his claims are waived unless he can show that fundamental error occurred. Kimbrough, 911 N.E.2d at 634. The fundamental-error rule is extremely narrow. Id. Fundamental error occurs only when the error "constitutes a blatant violation of basic principles, the harm or potential for harm is substantial, and the resulting error denies the defendant fundamental due process." Id.
We first address Kindred's challenge to Martin's testimony regarding her role in charging decisions. He also challenges numerous statements made by Martin and Fish regarding what A.G. told them during the forensic interviews. In its brief and at oral argument, the State claimed that this was properly offered as course-of-investigation evidence.
Course-of-investigation evidence is often offered to explain why police officers, investigators, or other law enforcement officers proceeded in a particular manner. "This `background' information, however, generally is irrelevant and should be excluded." 1 Wharton's Criminal Evidence § 4:47 (15th ed. 1997). It is irrelevant if it does not make it more or less probable that the defendant committed the acts alleged. "In other words, the explanation for why the police did what they did may add nothing to the determination of the defendant's guilt or innocence." Id. While
In this case, Martin described her role in making charging decisions:
Tr. p. 350-51. The State argues that Martin's testimony was proper course-of-investigation evidence. At trial, Kindred's trial counsel argued that this testimony was irrelevant. Id. at 351. The trial court overruled Kindred's objection.
The fact that Martin generally requires corroborating evidence before filing charges is irrelevant — it does not make it more or less probable that Kindred committed the acts alleged by A.G. Nor was Martin's charging criteria at issue at Kindred's trial. Thus, the trial court should have excluded her testimony on this basis alone. Moreover, Martin's testimony carries with it the threat that jurors would infer that because she requires corroborating evidence in the form of DNA, other medical evidence, or a confession, that one or more of those items were present in this case. We acknowledge, as the State implied at oral argument, that charging criteria may be an area of interest for jurors. However, this fact does not justify the admission of irrelevant and potentially prejudicial testimony. We conclude that the trial court erred by admitting this evidence.
In addition to being irrelevant, course-of-investigation evidence may also contain hearsay. Indeed, "cases abound in which the officer is allowed to relate historical aspects of the case, replete with hearsay statements in the form of complaints and reports, on the ground that he was entitled to give the information upon which he acted." 2 McCormick on Evidence § 249 (4th ed. 1992). While the need for this evidence "is slight, the likelihood of misuse [is] great." Id. Here, Kindred challenges numerous statements made by Martin and Fish regarding what A.G. told them during the forensic interviews and argues that this was improperly offered as course-of-investigation evidence.
Our Supreme Court has examined course-of-investigation evidence that contains otherwise inadmissible hearsay and in doing so, has questioned its relevancy. In Craig v. State, 630 N.E.2d 207, 212 (Ind.1994), the defendant, accused of child molesting, objected to the testimony of a police officer describing an out-of-court statement made by the victim's mother that two weeks after seeing the defendant, the victim said that the defendant molested him. The State argued that the testimony was not offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted, but rather to explain the course of the investigation — to show
This Court has also questioned the relevancy of testimony offered as course-of-investigation evidence. In Winbush v. State, a police detective testified about information he had received about the defendants' past criminal acts. 776 N.E.2d 1219, 1221-22 (Ind.Ct.App.2002), trans. denied. The State offered this testimony as course-of-investigation evidence over the defendants' objections. We concluded that this evidence had "little relevance" as the defendants were not contesting "the quality or validity of the investigation," but posed a high risk of prejudice and should not have been admitted at trial. Id. at 1222. Similarly, in Hernandez v. State, 785 N.E.2d 294, 300 (Ind.Ct.App.2003), trans. denied, we concluded that a police captain's testimony about prior complaints of prostitution at a spa where the defendant was arrested and later charged with prostitution were improperly admitted. Despite the fact that the claimed purpose of the captain's testimony was to show the course of the investigation, the "genesis of the investigation was not relevant to any contested issue" in the case while "the prejudicial impact was great." Id.
In addition, the Seventh Circuit recently discussed course-of-investigation evidence in the Indiana case of Jones v. Basinger, 635 F.3d 1030, 1045 (7th Cir. 2011). In Jones, the State elicited testimony from two police officers regarding a
Id. at 1046. In this case, the State elicited the following testimony from Martin and Fish:
Tr. p. 363, 365, 438-39, 448. The State contends that these statements were not offered for the truth of the matter asserted, but instead were properly admitted as course-of-investigation evidence. We cannot agree. As in Craig, Winbush, and Hernandez, the genesis, development, or quality of Martin and Fish's investigation was not at issue. For this reason, as our Supreme Court said in Craig, another child-molesting case, the testimony here had no "conceivable relevance apart from proving the facts asserted in the statements." 630 N.E.2d at 211. Nor can we conclude that the admission of this evidence was harmless. The threat of prejudice was considerable as A.G.'s credibility — unlike the victim's in Craig — was in question for numerous reasons, including a previous, demonstratively false accusation of molestation.
We next address Kindred's contention that this is a drumbeat-repetition case. Kindred argues that Martin and Fish's testimony as set forth above, as well as hearsay statements by Barbara, Christy, and David, created a prejudicial drumbeat repetition of the allegations against him.
In addition to Martin and Fish's testimony, Kindred also argues that Barbara, Christy, and David gave hearsay testimony:
Tr. p. 500, 525, 551.
While seemingly conceding that the statements were hearsay, the State argues that they were nonetheless general, brief, and cumulative of A.G.'s testimony, and thus this is not a drumbeat-repetition case. We have addressed the issue of drumbeat evidence in child-molesting cases with differing results.
In Stone v. State, 536 N.E.2d 534 (Ind. Ct.App.1989), the defendant was convicted of two counts of child molesting. Although we concluded that the trial court did not err in admitting some of the child victim's out-of-court statements, we held that the defendant was prejudiced when the trial court, over the defendant's objection, allowed five witnesses to testify to the victim's out-of-court statements. Id. at 540. Between the five witnesses and the victim, the victim's version of the alleged molestation was presented to the jury seven times. We concluded that this was drumbeat repetition and reversed, explaining that the victim's credibility was "of critical importance," and "the line between [the victim's] credibility became increasingly unimpeachable as each adult added his or her personal eloquence, maturity, emotion, and professionalism to [the victim's] out-of-court statements." Id. at 540-41.
Our Supreme Court also expressed concern about drumbeat repetition of evidence in Modesitt v. State, 578 N.E.2d 649 (Ind. 1991). In Modesitt, the trial court, over the defendant's objection, allowed three witnesses to testify to the child victim's hearsay statements concerning the alleged molestation. The court explained that "three witnesses told the victim's story before the victim herself testified" and the Court could not say that this "drumbeat repetition of the victim's original story prior to calling the victim to testify did not unduly prejudice the jury which convicted Modesitt." Id. at 651-52.
In two cases that followed, we found no drumbeat repetition. First, in Willis v. State, the child victim testified about being molested. 776 N.E.2d 965 (Ind.Ct.App. 2002). After the victim testified, her mother testified and the trial court admitted a videotape of the victim's interview with authorities. Both of these occurred despite the defendant's objection. Noting that the videotape revealed no evidence that the jury had not heard from the child victim, as well as the brief nature of the mother's testimony about the molestation, we concluded that this did not amount to the drumbeat repetition found in Modesitt. Id. at 968.
We also found no drumbeat repetition in Surber v. State, 884 N.E.2d 856, 864-65 (Ind.Ct.App.2008), trans. denied. In Surber, the child victim's statements about being molested were repeated by three witnesses, and a videotaped interview of the child describing the molestation was admitted into evidence without objection from Surber. Concluding that any error in admission was harmless, we noted that the victim was the first to testify and was cross-examined. Id. at 864. We also noted that the three witnesses' testimony "was brief, consistent with, and did not elaborate upon [the child victim's] testimony." Id.
Looking to the evidence here, we note that while Barbara, Christy, and David's testimony was brief, Martin and Fish testified at length. Martin's testimony, in particular, spans forty pages of the record, and she testified before the jury heard from A.G. In addition to hearing A.G.'s allegations from the mouths of Martin, Fish, Barbara, Christy, and David, the jurors also heard Kindred's entire forty-minute
Kindred next contends that fundamental error occurred when three witnesses vouched for A.G.'s credibility.
Vouching testimony is generally prohibited under Indiana Evidence Rule 704(b), which states: "Witnesses may not testify to opinions concerning intent, guilt, or innocence in a criminal case; the truth or falsity of allegations; whether a witness has testified truthfully; or legal conclusions." This testimony is considered an "invasion of the province of the jurors in determining what weight they should place upon a witness's testimony." Gutierrez v. State, 961 N.E.2d 1030, 1034 (Ind.Ct.App. 2012).
Until recently, an exception was made to Evidence Rule 704(b) for vouching testimony in child-molesting cases, under the rationale that "`[t]he child's capacity to accurately describe a meeting with an adult which may involve touching, sexual stimulation, displays of affection and the like, is automatically in issue....'" Stewart v. State, 555 N.E.2d 121, 125 (Ind.1990) (quoting Lawrence v. State, 464 N.E.2d 923, 925 (Ind.1984)), abrogated on other grounds by Lannan v. State, 600 N.E.2d 1334 (Ind.1992). However, our Supreme Court recently decided Hoglund v. State, 962 N.E.2d 1230 (Ind.2012), in which it expressly eliminated this vouching-testimony exception in child-molesting cases.
In Hoglund, the Court, revisiting its holding in Lawrence, concluded that
Id. at 1236-37 (citations omitted) (emphasis added).
In this case, Fish testified that he did not believe that A.G. had been "coached." Tr. p. 449, 470. On appeal, Kindred contends that this statement was the functional equivalent of telling the jury that A.G. was telling the truth. The State contends that this was not vouching testimony, but rather a response to Kindred's trial strategy, which was to attack A.G.'s credibility and suggest that she had been coached or otherwise had reason to lie. Kindred and the State have identified the two main arguments regarding a witness's testimony about coaching. In child-molesting cases, particularly where there is no physical evidence, as is the case here, the central issue is likely to be the child's credibility. And in that instance, a defendant may suggest that the child was coached. Thus, this is an issue likely to be encountered with some frequency, but it has yet to be resolved by our courts.
962 N.E.2d at 1234-35 (emphasis added). Hoglund also discussed the Ohio Supreme Court's ruling in State v. Boston, 46 Ohio St.3d 108, 545 N.E.2d 1220, 1240 (1989), which
Hoglund at 1235 (emphasis added).
We read Hoglund to suggest that testimony about whether a child has been coached amounts to the same improper commentary on the child's truthfulness as testimony about whether a child is prone to exaggerate or fantasize about sexual matters. We hold that general testimony about the signs of coaching, as well as the presence or absence of those signs in the child victim at issue, preserves the ultimate credibility determination for the jury and therefore does not constitute vouching. By contrast, where a witness opines as to whether the child victim was coached — offering an ultimate opinion, as Fish did here — the witness invades the province of the jury and vouches for the child.
We also conclude that Fish vouched for A.G.'s credibility indirectly though the admission of the audio recording of his interview with Kindred. During the interview, Fish stated five times that A.G. was "truthful" or "believable." Petitioner's Ex. 1, p. 27-28. The jurors heard these statements when the interview was played in the courtroom and read them in the transcript of the recording. A.G.'s father, David, also vouched for A.G.'s credibility when he stated at trial that he never questioned the allegations made by A.G. because he knew that she would tell the truth and "wouldn't lie." Tr. p. 553, 555. While these statements were made by A.G.'s father and did not convey any specific knowledge about the allegations, they nonetheless vouched for A.G.'s credibility.
We need not determine whether any single error in the admission of vouching, hearsay, or other evidence detailed above was fundamental because we conclude that the cumulative effect of the admission of this evidence is fundamental error.
Having reached this conclusion, the question of whether Kindred may be subjected to a new trial depends upon an analysis of the sufficiency of the evidence. Browning v. State, 775 N.E.2d 1222, 1226 (Ind.Ct.App.2002). When determining whether retrial is permissible, we consider all of the evidence admitted at trial, including the erroneously admitted evidence. Id. "If, viewed as a whole, that evidence would have been sufficient to sustain the judgment, retrial would not offend double jeopardy principles." Id. The uncorroborated testimony of a child victim is sufficient to support a conviction for child molesting. Stewart v. State, 768 N.E.2d 433 (Ind.2002) (citing Barger v. State, 587 N.E.2d 1304, 1308 (Ind.1992)). Because A.G.'s testimony would be sufficient to justify a conviction, jeopardy has not attached and Kindred may be retried.
Reversed and remanded.
CRONE, J., and BRADFORD, J., concur.
785 N.E.2d at 298 (citations omitted).