The Alaska Court of Appeals has reversed a 99-year conviction in a child sex abuse case after a Superior Court judge failed to follow court rules on admitting hearsay evidence, according to an appeals opinion published Friday.
In May 2013, Arthur Augustine, 57 at the time, was sentenced to four back-to-back life sentences, or 396 years, for abusing two young girls he cared for. The jury deliberated for less than a day.
The Court of Appeals' decision throws out one first-degree sex abuse conviction but upholds another. And after adjusting for an incorrect sentence imposition, Augustine's minimum sentence falls to 99 years and two days.
The state's evidence against Augustine was based "almost completely" on the out-of-court statements of the two girls and hearsay testimony of other adults, according to the opinion. Video recordings of the girls' statements were shown to the jury, it says.
Now, the appeals court has directed the Superior Court to reassess whether the children's statements should have been admitted, as well as examine how Augustine's sentence was imposed.
The appeals court said that Superior Court Judge Michael McConahy allowed the girls' recorded, pretrial statements during the trial -- generally considered hearsay unless crime victims are younger than 16.
But the rule allowing the statements required McConahy to decide whether or not to admit the evidence "after evaluating the entirety of the circumstances surrounding the victim's statement," the opinion says.
The appeals court ruled the judge failed to hold the state to its burden of proof regarding whether the victims' interviews were conducted in a way that avoided influencing their statements.
McConahy also should have individually determined if the statements were reliable and trustworthy, according to the opinion.
The state did not call the girls, 5 and 7, to testify during the trial.
Defense attorneys intended to call a forensic psychologist who, according to a report cited in the opinion, would testify that a trooper's interviews with the girls were of "uniformly poor quality" and used leading and multiple-choice questions.
"Four poor quality interviews were conducted with these two children. No attempt was made to determine what may or may not have happened in this case: the interviews were intended to prove that the suspect had offended against these children," Dr. John Yuille's report concluded.
Despite the objections of the defense -- which echoed Yuille's criticisms, among other arguments -- the judge ruled the video records met evidence requirements, according to the appeal.
It was also up to the judge to gauge the trustworthiness of the evidence before it was presented to the jury. Judge McConahy didn't independently analyze issues raised by the defense, the appeals court said.
"Instead, the judge simply noted these concerns and then declared that these matters were for the jury," according to the opinion.
Department of Law Criminal Division director John Skidmore said its still too early to tell if a new trial will be required or not.
As for the reversal of the sex abuse conviction he said, "Every case/trial involves significant time from both parties. Appeals are a normal part of the American justice system."
The investigation into Augustine began when Alaska State Troopers received a report of possible abuse from the Office of Children's Services. A criminal complaint said both girls gave accounts stating Augustine touched them inappropriately and made them touch him when visiting his home on the weekends, The Associated Press reported.
Augustine was also convicted of sexual abuse of a minor in the early 1980s.