A Stamford, CT judge declared a mistrial yesterday in the sexual assault case of a minor by police officer, Anthony Santo. Attorney for Santo, Gary Mastronardi, filed a motion for a mistrial after testimony offered by Child Guidance Center ‘s Dr. Larry Rosenberg, was so prejudicial to Santo that, “even striking his testimony would not keep the jurors from considering it in their deliberations.”
Interestingly enough, in a case argued by Mastronardi earlier this year, Connecticut’s Supreme Court upheld an appellate court reversal of the conviction of a Fairfield man on felony risk of injury charges. The Supreme Court agreed that the trial court abused its discretion by allowing an Expert Witness to indirectly testify about the truthfulness of a complaint’s allegations.
In this case, Dr. Rosenberg, a Psychologist, testified that 93 percent to 95 percent of the children who alleged sexual abuse are being truthful. The other five to seven percent were found to be coached by a parent. As there was no divorce or custody dispute in this case, the inference was too strong that the girl was a victim of sexual abuse. “He went too far,” said Mastronardi. “He improperly and inappropriately commented on the credibility of the witness….” Comerford admitted that an error had been made in allowing Rosenberg’s testimony on the percentages of truthful minor sex-abuse victims. As a result, substantial damage was done to the defendant’s case. “Essentially what he was saying was the woman was telling the truth,” Comerford said. Based on the Supreme Court’s earlier decision regarding the truthfulness of a complaint’s allegations, Comerford granted Mastronardi’s motion.
