People v. Mason CA1/1

BACKGROUND

The details of defendants’ molestation of his daughters, T.M. and L.M., are not relevant to the claims he raises on appeal. Defendant committed various acts of sexual abuse against T.M. and L.M. over the course of several years when they were under 14 years old.

1 At trial, a clinical psychologist, Blake Carmichael, testified as an expert on CSAAS and child sexual abuse disclosure.1 CSAAS is a tool to help educate people about children who have been sexually abused and to dispel myths about how children who have been abused behave. There are five components to CSAAS: (1) secrecy, (2) helplessness, (3) entrapment or accommodation (coping), (4) delayed, conflicted, and unconvincing disclosure, and (5) recantation or retraction. CSAAS is “not used to determine if a [particular] kid was abused or not.” Dr. Carmichael testified he did not know anything about the facts of the case, had not read reports or interviews related to the case, and knew nothing about the specific victim in the case or the relationship of “the victim” to the defendant. He testified at length about each of the five aspects of CSAAS and how those factors relate to disclosure of sexual abuse. The jury…