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Odom v. State

Expert witness's testimony that the 3-year-old victim's behavior and physical exam were consistent with sexual abuse did not invade the jury's province to determine if the defendant perpetrated sexual abuse.

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Benjamin William Odom appeals from a Richmond County jury’s verdict finding him guilty of aggravated sodomy and aggravated child molestation for sexual acts he perpetrated against his three-year-old stepson. Before this Court, Odom raises a type of challenge that has seen some “success” in terms of reversal, and thus is raised repeatedly on appeal of sexual abuse convictions: Odom challenges the opinion testimony of each of the State’s expert witnesses, claiming that-in one form or another-the expert’s testimony invaded the province of the jury and improperly bolstered the credibility of the victim.

1. At the onset, there is absolutely nothing wrong with expert opinion testimony that bolster’s the credibility of the indicted allegations of sexual abuse, e.g., “the victim’s physical examination showed injury consistent with sexual abuse,” or “the victim’s psychological evaluation was consistent with sexual abuse.” Establishing the credibility of the indicted acts of sexual abuse is what the State’s case is all about and is the purpose for such expert testimony in the first place; the fact that such testimony may also “indirectly, though necessarily, involve the child’s credibility does not render it inadmissible.”1

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