The People v. Steckstor CA4/2

FACTS

Between 2004 and 2006, defendant molested the victim, his minor cousin, at her

family home and her grandmother‟s home.

ISSUES AND DISCUSSION

1. Exclusion of Evidence that Defendant’s Girlfriend and Defendant had a Good Sex Life

During trial, defense counsel sought permission to have defendant‟s 2006

girlfriend testify that she and defendant “had a good sex life[,]” “that he has a healthy

[sexual] relationship with [her].”1 His theory of admissibility was that this evidence

showed a lack of motive on defendant‟s part to molest the victim. The prosecutor

countered, arguing that it was irrelevant, in that the fact that one had a normal sex life

with an adult partner did not preclude pedophilia, a proposition with which the trial court

agreed, and ruled the evidence inadmissible.

Defendant now contends that the trial court erred in rejecting this evidence. In

support, he cites only McAlpin, which he completely misreads. McAlpin held that the

We quote from the record to demonstrate precisely what evidence defense counsel proposed to introduce. The effort of appellate counsel in his reply brief to morph this into a request to introduce evidence of “her opinion,…