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Gaskin v. State

The trial court harmfully erred in admitting evidence of the child molestation defendant's prior arrests for crimes that did not relate to his truthfulness.

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Larry Gaskin, Jr. appeals the trial court’s denial of his motion for new trial after a jury convicted him of two counts of child molestation. Because we find that the trial court committed harmful error in admitting evidence of Gaskin’s prior arrests, we reverse.

Viewed in the light most favorable to support the verdict,1 the evidence at trial showed that in February 2011, the victim, K. C., who was 15 years old, lived with her mother, younger sister,2 and Gaskin. One night that month, K. C. was laying in the bed with her sister, whom she was babysitting while Gaskin and her mother were out of the house. That evening, K. C. texted her mother, who was still out, and asked her to make Gaskin leave the house. When K. C. and her mother subsequently spoke on the phone, K. C. told her mother that when Gaskin came to get her sister out of the bed, he touched K. C.’s breasts. K. C.’s mother then confronted Gaskin, but he denied any wrongdoing, saying that K. C.’s assertion was crazy. The next day, K. C., her mother, and Gaskin discussed the situation. K. C. repeated that Gaskin had been drinking and had touched her breasts, but she did not know if he had done it on purpose or not. According to K. C.’s mother, K. C. did not say that she wanted Gaskin to leave the house, and he continued to live with the family.

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