Letoile

Defendant was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for the crime of incest committed with his eldest daughter. His appeal is from the judgment and from an order denying his motion for a new trial.

Testimony directly supporting the charge was given by the prosecuting witness, the daughter of the defendant. It was claimed by the defendant that according to her own testimony she had consented to the acts constituting the ground of complaint, and that she being therefore an accomplice, the conviction cannot be sustained without corroborative evidence tending to connect the defendant with the commission of the offense.

The only corroborative evidence found in the record is contained in the testimony of Mary Letoile, a sister of the prosecuting witness, Lucy Letoile, which testimony was admitted over objections thereto. This witness was called by the prosecution as a witness in rebuttal, and was questioned about trouble between herself and her father at about the time of his arrest. This question was asked by the district attorney: “About that time and for some time previous thereto, had you had trouble with him with regard to his acts of sexual intimacy with you?” After an…