Bockting

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Marvin Bockting lived with his wife, Laura, and his two daughters, Autumn and Honesty, in a motel in Las Vegas. Autumn had taken showers together with Laura and Bockting. She had also seen them having sex, and she was accustomed to the use of sexual language.

One Saturday night, when Laura was at home alone with the children, Autumn Bockting woke up crying. Her mother observed that “she looked like she had just woken up from a bad dream and she was quite upset.” At first she refused to tell Laura what was wrong. Laura asked why she wouldn’t tell. Autumn told her, “Because daddy said that you would make him leave and that he would beat my butt if I told you.” After reassurance from her mother, Autumn said “daddy put his pee-pee in her pee-pee, and that daddy put his pee-pee in her butt, and daddy made her suck on his pee-pee like it was a sucker.” BOCKTING v. BAYER 1997 The next day, Laura confronted Bockting. She asked him to leave, which he did. Two days later, a Tuesday, Laura cal- led the rape crisis hotline and was told to take Autumn to the hospital, where they were met by Detective Zinovitch. Zinovitch tried to interview Autumn,…