## Facts

- Ferlin Dorian was investigated after a report of suspected sexual abuse of his five-year-old daughter, Roxanne.
- A child-protection case worker interviewed Roxanne. Roxanne said she felt scared when her father touched her chest, but initially denied that he touched her elsewhere.
- A later interview was conducted with a state child-protection supervisor and Roxanne’s temporary caregiver, Monica Whiting, with whom Roxanne had been living for a short time.
- During that later interview, Roxanne shook her head when asked whether her father had ever put anything between her legs.
- In a subsequent interview with Whiting, Roxanne described her father bringing her to a bedroom and undressing himself until Roxanne’s mother intervened.
- The supervisor then asked Roxanne whether her father had ever put anything between her legs, and Roxanne stated that he had put his finger there.
- In another session using anatomically correct dolls, Roxanne used the dolls to demonstrate the father undressing Roxanne and placing himself between her legs; when prompted about what happened next, Roxanne said her father put his “boy thing” into the hole between her legs.
- Roxanne confirmed seeing her father’s “boy thing” and used the doll to depict an erect penis.
- Dorian was indicted for rape and incest and went to trial in federal court.
- Roxanne did not testify at trial because of her age and fear.
- The government called Whiting, the supervisor, and the case worker to describe Roxanne’s interview statements and their questioning methods; they testified they did not use leading or suggestive questions.
- An expert witness testified that children may disclose abuse in stages and that contradictions can stem from fear of punishment for revealing information.
- Other witnesses described Roxanne’s fear around men, her fear during a planned vaginal exam, and her reaction to being told she was going home because she believed her father would be there.
- Additional evidence included testimony that Dorian began washing Roxanne’s underwear, something he had not previously done.
- The jury convicted Dorian. On appeal, Dorian argued (among other points) that Whiting should not have been allowed to testify about her interviews because she was not a qualified social worker and had limited training in interviewing children and using anatomical dolls.

## Issues

1. Whether the district court erred in admitting testimony from Monica Whiting describing Roxanne’s out-of-court disclosures during interviews, given Whiting’s limited training and lack of professional credentials in child-abuse interviewing.

## Decision

- The court affirmed Dorian’s convictions.
- The court held that the district court did not commit reversible error by permitting Whiting to testify about Roxanne’s statements from the interviews, despite Whiting’s limited formal training.
- The court relied on the circumstances supporting reliability, including the manner in which the interviews were conducted, the progressive nature of Roxanne’s disclosures, corroborating testimony about Roxanne’s fear and behavior, and expert testimony explaining why a child’s account may emerge in stages.
- Because Roxanne was unavailable to testify due to fear and age, and the admitted statements carried sufficient guarantees of trustworthiness, their admission did not warrant reversal.

## Legal Principles

- Trial courts have broad discretion over evidentiary rulings, and an appellate court will not reverse absent an abuse of discretion affecting substantial rights.
- When a child declarant cannot testify, out-of-court statements describing sexual abuse may be admitted if the circumstances show adequate reliability (for example, non-suggestive questioning, consistency over time when disclosure occurs in stages, and corroboration by other evidence).
- A witness’s lack of professional credentials to conduct child interviews generally goes to the weight of the testimony rather than its admissibility, so long as the foundational facts support the reliability of the child’s statements.
- Corroborating evidence of a child’s fear, behavior changes, and other surrounding circumstances may support a finding that admitted disclosures are trustworthy.

## Conclusion

United States v. Dorian upheld rape and incest convictions where the child victim could not testify, and the district court allowed a temporary caregiver and child-protection witnesses to recount the child’s staged disclosures (including doll demonstrations) after finding sufficient reliability; the caregiver’s limited training did not require exclusion, and the evidentiary rulings did not justify reversal.


United States v. Dorian, 803 F.2d 1439 (1986)