Nadine G. Nichols v. Louis Allen Nichols

Raising several issues, appellant, Dennis Flanagan, seeks review of his conviction and life sentence for sexually battering his mentally retarded 9 year old daughter. Specifically, he asserts: 1) the trial court erred in admitting a physicians testimony as to the identity of the childs sexual abuser pursuant to the medical diagnosis/treatment exception to the hearsay rule; 2) the trial court erred in allowing the jury to view videotaped testimony of the victim during its deliberations; 3) the trial court erred in admitting expert testimony regarding general characteristics of child sex abuse offenders and the home environments in which child sexual abuse frequently occurs; 4) the trial court erred in admitting similar fact evidence relating to a sexual act appellant committed on another child; and 5) the trial court erred in denying appellants motion for a mistrial based upon improper prosecutorial comment and based upon certain testimony of a separately charged individual. For the reasons which follow, we affirm Flanagans conviction and sentence.