In Re Sara M.
Opinion
Opinion
[Opinion certified for partial publication. [*] ]
OPINION
ACKLEY, J. [*]
This appeal marks the second time appellant's case has been before this court. Appellant's daughter, Sara M., was adjudged a dependent of the court and placed in the custody of her maternal grandparents. Appellant contends the trial court prejudicially erred in allowing testimony concerning the "child molest syndrome," to prove that Sara had been molested. We agree and reverse the judgment.
In early November 1983, appellant noticed a vaginal discharge and redness in her three-year-old daughter, Sara. Suspecting a possible molestation, appellant asked Sara who had touched her. Sara responded affirmatively to every name mentioned. Appellant told a nurse she was concerned Sara might have been molested. Appellant listed a number of people who might have molested Sara, including her husband, Danny I. (Sara's stepfather), her father-in-law, and her brother-in-law. On the nurse's suggestion, she took Sara to see a doctor. No evidence of molestation was found; a bacterial infection was diagnosed.
Later that month, Sara went to Lake Tahoe to spend the Thanksgiving holidays with her maternal grandparents, Mr. and…