Commonwealth v. Centeno (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-067-15)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA, 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us 13-P-1077 Appeals Court COMMONWEALTH vs. MARCOS CENTENO. No. 13-P-1077. Essex. November 10, 2014. – June 25, 2015. Present: Rubin, Brown, & Maldonado, JJ. Rape. Indecent Assault and Battery. Assault and Battery. Child Abuse. Evidence, Subsequent misconduct, Expert opinion. Witness, Expert. Jury and Jurors. Practice, Criminal, Jury and jurors, Conduct of juror, Voir dire. Indictments found and returned in the Superior Court Department on July 23, 2010. The cases were tried before Timothy Q. Feeley, J. William B. Van Lonkhuyzen for the defendant. Marcia H. Slingerland, Assistant District Attorney, for the Commonwealth. BROWN, J. The defendant was convicted by a jury on four indictments charging rape of a child, two indictments charging indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of fourteen, and one indictment charging assault and battery.[1] The defendant now appeals, claiming that (1) the judge abused his discretion when he allowed the admission of the defendant’s subsequent misconduct (subsequent bad acts) in evidence; (2) the judge erred in denying a motion for a required finding of not guilty on the indictment charging penile-vaginal rape, (3) the judge abused his discretion in allowing in evidence certain expert testimony that absence of physical injury is not inconsistent with anal rape; and (4) the judge did not abuse his discretion in declining to conduct a voir dire of a sitting juror who was visibly upset. We affirm. Facts. We briefly summarize the facts taken from the evidence presented at trial and reserve for later discussion such additional facts as are relevant to each issue raised on appeal. In 2004, when the victim was eight years old and entering third grade, the defendant moved into the home she shared with her mother and two younger brothers.[2] The defendant began to sexually assault the victim almost immediately. The incidents continued unabated and escalated until the defendant left the home in February, 2008.[3] The victim’s mother witnessed part of a single incident. Although the defendant left the home in February, 2008, the victim’s mother took the victim and her other children to visit him. In this same period, the victim revealed to her aunt that “[the defendant] used to touch” her.[4] The victim told her aunt not to tell anyone because she “felt embarrassed” and because she thought her mother really liked the defendant and she […]