United States v. Perry Nation

MEMORANDUM

Defendant-Appellant Perry Nation appeals his conviction of two counts of aggravated sexual abuse in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1153 (a) and 2241(c), and his sentence to 235 months in prison. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and now affirm.

First, the district did not abuse its discretion in admitting the rebuttal testimony of the government’s expert witness Stephanie Knapp, an FBI Child and Adolescent Forensic Interviewer. On cross-examination of government witnesses and in its case-in-chief, the defense sought to raise the inference that the alleged victims were incredible because they had each delayed disclosing the abuse for several years. Defense counsel asked each of the victims about their failure or unwillingness to disclose immediately, and asked the victims’ mother and other witnesses whether they had ever been told of the abuse previously or noticed any signs of abuse. Since the defense had implicitly, but repeatedly, attacked the victims’ credibility based on their failure to reveal the abuse at or near the time it occurred, the district court did not abuse its discretion in permitting the government to rebut that attack by introducing…