State v. Gaona

A jury convicted Rodolfo Gaona (defendant) of multiple counts of rape and aggravated sodomy of his stepdaughter, M. L. Sexual-assault nurse examiner (SANE) Nikki Wiecken testified that she physically examined M. L. at the hospital and interviewed M. L. using a forensic-interview technique called the Finding Words method, a semi-structured interview technique that allowed children to use their own words. Ganoa presented Robert Barnett, a clinical psychologist, as an expert witness to testify about general issues with the Finding Words method and particular issues with Wiecken’s interview of M. L. The prosecution (plaintiff) also called Kelly Robbins as an expert witness. Robbins’s testimony was not specific to M. L.’s interviews or allegations. At the time of Gaona’s trial, Robbins was the executive director of both the Western Kansas Child Advocacy Center and Finding Words of Kansas, and Robbins had personally interviewed at least 150 children. Robbins was not a licensed mental-health professional and had no formal training in psychology, psychiatry, social work, or child development. Robbins described herself as a “fact-finder” rather than a mental health professional. Robbins testified that she had received training in the Finding Words protocol, had taught parts of the Finding Words course, and was certified to conduct forensic interviews using the protocol by the American Prosecutors Research Institute. Robbins testified that secrecy around child abuse often leads to delayed or partial disclosure, that it is more difficult for children to report abuse if it occurred at home or was committed by a family member, and that it is probably rare for children to fabricate sexual-abuse allegations and doing so would take significant effort and time. Gaona appealed, arguing in relevant part that Robbins was unqualified to testify as an expert witness to common behavior of child victims of sexual abuse. The appellate court rejected Gaona’s argument that Robbins was unqualified, but it reversed one of Gaona’s rape convictions on other grounds. Gaona appealed to the Kansas Supreme Court.