State v. Delgado, 742 A.2d 990 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2000)

Cases | State v. Delgado, 742 A.2d 990 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2000) | 2018

The defendant was convicted of two counts of sexual assault and two counts of child abuse in connection to several incidents that involved a twelve-year- old and a seven-year-old victim. The defendant was sentenced to two consecutive seven year terms of incarceration. The seven-year-old victim testified via closed-circuit television after the trial court determined its appropriateness. The trial court also allowed the jury to hear taped statements that the seven-year-old victim had made to the police. On appeal, the defendant argued that the trial court erred by allowing the victim to testify out of the presence of the defendant because: 1) the trial court did not find that the victim was suffering from severe emotional or mental distress; 2) the trial court did not inform the defendant that he had the option of waiving his right to be present to allow the juvenile to testify in front of the jury; and 3) the trial court did not consider statutory factors such as the impact of the presence of spectators or the jury on the victim. The superior court held that: 1) the victim did not need to explicitly state that she was under severe emotional or mental distress as long as the trial court took into account the victim’s statements, reactions, and physical manifestations when making such a determination; 2) the defendant did not demand that the victim testify in front of the jury; and 3) the trial court did not expressly mention the effect of spectators on the victim but rather encompassed the entire atmosphere in his determination, which was harmless error. The judgment was affirmed.