Commonwealth v. Vera (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-138-15)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports.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 14-P-183 Appeals Court COMMONWEALTH vs. JOSE VERA. No. 14-P-183. Worcester. March 2, 2015. – September 11, 2015. Present: Katzmann, Milkey, & Agnes, JJ. Evidence, Prior misconduct, Motive, Relevancy and materiality, Information stored on computer. Internet. Rape. Indecent Assault and Battery. Open and Gross Lewdness and Lascivious Behavior. Obscenity, Dissemination of obscene matter to minor. Practice, Criminal, Assistance of counsel. Indictments found and returned in the Superior Court Department on August 19, 2011. The cases were tried before David Ricciardone, J. William A. Korman for the defendant. Susan M. Oftring, Assistant District Attorney, for the Commonwealth. KATZMANN, J. The defendant appeals from his convictions by a Superior Court jury of six counts of rape and abuse of a child under sixteen, G. L. c. 265, § 23; two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under fourteen, G. L. c. 265, § 13B; one count of open and gross lewdness, G. L. c. 272, § 16; and two counts of dissemination of matter harmful to a minor, G. L. c. 272, § 28. The principal issue in this appeal is whether the prior bad act evidence of the defendant’s Internet searches for pornography involving young girls was properly admitted, or whether it was admitted in error because it was impermissible character or propensity evidence. We affirm. Background. The central evidence in the case was presented through the testimony of the victim, R.M., who was ten at the time of trial. The victim’s mother, S.G., also testified, as well as a first complaint witness, F.C., who was the daughter of one of S.G.’s close friends. During the period of abuse, the victim, R.M., lived with her mother, younger brother, and sister. The defendant was the mother’s boy friend and the father of R.M.’s sister. He did not live with the family, but did stay overnight at their apartment “very often” and sometimes supervised the children. The abuse occurred over a period of several years. The victim testified that one day when she was four years old, she was lying on her mother’s bed watching television when the defendant approached her and placed his hands under her clothes and inserted his fingers into her vagina. He continued the act for several minutes and then stopped when the victim’s mother called for help with groceries. When R.M. […]