NAJAM, Judge.
A.R.M. appeals his adjudication as a delinquent child for committing child molesting, as a Class C felony when committed by an adult, and battery, as a Class B misdemeanor when committed by an adult. A.R.M. presents a single issue on appeal, namely, whether the juvenile court admitted a videotape of an interview with the victim contrary to the provisions of Indiana Code Section 35-37-4-6, the Protected Person Statute ("PPS"). We hold that the juvenile court did not err when it determined that the child victim's videotaped statement to a forensic interviewer was reliable and that, on the facts presented, the child victim had testified at the fact-finding hearing, which was equivalent to the trial required by the PPS.
We affirm.
In February 2011, T.M. and her four children lived with friends in South Bend. One of the friends had two teenage children, including A.R.M., who was then thirteen years old. T.M.'s youngest child, S.M., was seven years old at the time. On February 8, A.R.M.'s mother was looking for him at bedtime and found him in the bathroom. A.R.M. was clothed, but he was handling the zipper/button area and waistband of his jeans. S.M. had just been in the bathroom with A.R.M., and he sat down in the hallway outside the bathroom with his head hanging down. A.R.M.'s mother demanded from A.R.M. to know what had happened.
T.M. heard the voices and stood in the bathroom doorway with A.R.M.'s mother. When T.M. asked S.M. if "anything [had] happened between" S.M. and A.R.M. and "if there was any inappropriate touching involved," transcript at 28-29, S.M. nodded yes.
After finding alternate housing, T.M. and her children moved out of A.R.M.'s home two days later, and on February 14 they moved to the Y.W.C.A. T.M. reported the incident to personnel at the Y.W.C.A.,
On August 2, the juvenile court convened for the fact-finding hearing. When the State offered into evidence the videotaped statement S.M. had given to the CASIE Center interviewer, A.R.M. objected that the State had not met the requirements of the Protected Person Statute, Indiana Code Section 35-37-4-6.
S.M. testified at the hearing but, when the State asked him about the February 8 incident in the bathroom with A.R.M., S.M. answered that he could not remember anything. At the conclusion of the State's direct examination, A.R.M. was given an opportunity to cross-examine the victim but declined and moved for a directed verdict.
On August 16, A.R.M. filed a motion requesting the juvenile court to certify its fact-finding order for interlocutory appeal. The juvenile court obliged on August 17, but this court denied A.R.M.'s request to accept jurisdiction over the appeal. On November 1, the juvenile court held a dispositional hearing and adjudicated A.R.M. to be a delinquent child for having committed the offenses of child molesting, as a Class C felony, and battery, as a Class B misdemeanor, and committed him to the Indiana Department of Correction for placement at the Indiana Boys School. A.R.M. now appeals.
A.R.M. contends that the juvenile court abused its discretion because it admitted S.M.'s videotaped statement from the CASIE Center contrary to the Protected Person Statute. Specifically, A.R.M. contends that the videotape did not meet the standard under the PPS to be reliable and that the State did not meet the requirement of having S.M. testify or showing, through medical testimony or other evidence, that S.M. was unavailable to testify at the fact-finding hearing. We conclude that the juvenile court did not abuse its discretion when it determined that the videotape was reliable and that S.M. testified at the fact-finding hearing. As such, the State satisfied
The PPS provides, in relevant part:
Ind.Code § 35-37-4-6. The PPS applies in juvenile delinquency cases. J.A. v. State, 904 N.E.2d 250, 255 (Ind.Ct.App. 2009), trans. denied. And the statute applies in this case because S.M. was a victim of a sex crime, Ind.Code § 35-37-4-6(a)(1), and was under fourteen years of age, Ind.Code § 35-37-4-6(c).
Further, the decision to admit statements under the Protected Person Statute will not be reversed absent a showing of a manifest abuse of discretion by the trial court resulting in the denial of a fair trial. Mishler v. State, 894 N.E.2d 1095, 1099 (Ind.Ct.App.2008) (citing M.T. v. State, 787 N.E.2d 509, 511 (Ind.Ct.App.
Before we consider the merits of A.R.M.'s claims, we must consider the State's claim that A.R.M. waived his challenge to the admissibility of the videotaped statement by failing to include the same in the record on appeal. In support the State cites Davis v. State, 935 N.E.2d 1215 (Ind.Ct.App.2010), where we held that "[i]t is a defendant's duty to present and adequate record clearly showing the alleged error, and where he fails to do so, the issue is waived." Id. at 1217. We agree with the State that the preferred course would be to include in the record on appeal all juvenile evidence so as to aid our review. But, except for the narrow exception discussed below, the issues on appeal concern whether the procedural requirements of the PPS were followed and do not require review of the videotape itself. The State does not show how review of the videotaped statement in this case is necessary to review of the procedural issues raised by A.R.M., nor does it argue that such is necessary. Therefore, the State has not shown that A.R.M.'s failure to include the videotaped statement hinders our review. As such, A.R.M. has not waived review, and we consider the merits of A.R.M.'s issues on appeal. However, as discussed below, any argument based on the content of the videotape is waived.
A.R.M. first contends that the admission of S.M.'s videotaped statement to the CASIE interviewer does not meet the reliability requirements under the PPS. Again, the statute requires the juvenile court to determine whether a statement is reliable by holding a hearing outside the presence of the jury on the admissibility of the tape, and the protected person must attend the hearing in person or via closed circuit television testimony.
In challenging the reliability of the videotape, A.R.M. contends that
Appellant's Brief at 5-6. But "the lack of spontaneity between the child's first molestation revelation and the time that statement is videotaped, standing alone, does not render the statement inadmissible under [Indiana Code Section] 35-37-4-6."
There is no evidence that T.M. discussed the incident with S.M. again before S.M. was interviewed at the CASIE Center, let alone coached him. Further, the CASIE Center interviewer testified regarding her extensive training and experience in conducting child interviews like the one at issue in this case. Thus, the setting and circumstances of the videotape do not weigh against a finding of reliability. Because the tape was not submitted as part of the record on appeal, we cannot review it to consider the content of the tape, and any argument regarding reliability based on the content of the videotape is waived. Therefore, on the record before us, we cannot say that the juvenile court abused its discretion when it determined that the time, content, and circumstances of the videotape provide sufficient indications of reliability.
A.R.M. next contends that the juvenile court erred when it admitted the videotape because S.M. did not testify at the fact-finding hearing and was not found to be unavailable to testify under the PPS. Again, the relevant part of the PPS provides that, once a statement is determined to be reliable, it may be admitted into evidence at the trial if:
Ind.Code § 35-37-4-6(e)(2).
Here, although the admissibility of the videotape was the focus of the first part of the fact-finding hearing, the parties treated the entirety of the fact-finding hearing as the "trial" contemplated in the PPS. S.M. testified at the hearing, and immediately after that examination, A.R.M. moved for a "directed verdict." S.M.'s inability to recall the incident does not change the fact that he testified. And, as noted above, A.R.M. had the opportunity to cross-examine S.M. but declined to do so. As such, we conclude that S.M. testified at the fact-finding hearing, and subsection (e)(2) of the PPS was satisfied.
We affirm.
RILEY, J., and DARDEN, J., concur.