People v. Purdue CA3

FACTS

The trial in this case was largely a credibility contest between E. and defendant. As the prosecutor stated in closing: “Somebody is not telling the truth. And it boils down to is [E.] telling the truth? Or is [defendant] telling the truth?” The trial court excluded evidence bearing directly on E.’s credibility. To facilitate our discussion of whether this was a prejudicial abuse of discretion, we present the competing testimony of E. and defendant in detail. But we begin with some undisputed background. Defendant and S.G. married in 1995, separated in 2008, and finalized their divorce in 2010. Their three children, daughters E. and A., and son, C., moved in with defendant in February 2009. They lived in a three-bedroom house. Defendant slept in the master bedroom, E. shared a bedroom with A., and C. had his own bedroom. Despite this arrangement, E. routinely slept in

years of age by a person over 21 years of age (Counts 10-11). With respect to Counts 2 and 3, the jury found the victim was a minor who was 14 years of age or older. With respect to Counts 7 and 8, the jury found defendant used force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury.…