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FOR PUBLICATION

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: JEFFREY L. SANFORD South Bend, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE: STEVE CARTER Attorney General of Indiana KELLY A. MIKLOS Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
EUGENE CANDLER, Appellant-Defendant, vs. STATE OF INDIANA, Appellee-Plaintiff. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

No. 71A05-0502-CR-90

APPEAL FROM THE ST. JOSEPH SUPERIOR COURT The Honorable R. W. Chamblee, Jr., Judge Cause No. 71D08-0303-FB-30

December 5, 2005 OPINION - FOR PUBLICATION

VAIDIK, Judge

Case Summary Eugene Candler appeals his convictions for child molesting. Specifically, he contends that the trial court erred by excluding evidence that the victim had made a false allegation of sexual misconduct against her stepfather and by allowing two witnesses to testify at trial that K.B. had told them about the molestations. Because Candler failed to prove that the victim's allegations were false or demonstrably false and because the witnesses' testimony is relevant, the trial court did not err in its exclusion and admission of this evidence. We therefore affirm. Facts and Procedural History K.B. and her mother lived with Willie Berry from the time of K.B.'s birth on March 11, 1985, until she was about three years old. Candler lived across the street from Berry. After moving out, K.B. and her mother frequently visited Berry, and Candler sometimes stopped by during these visits. During one of the visits in 1990--when K.B. was about five years old--Candler invited K.B. over to his house to play board games while her mother visited Berry. Candler took K.B. to his bedroom and instructed her to stand in front of the mirror and to remove her clothes. Candler then pointed to K.B.'s various body parts, including her vagina and breasts, and told her what they were used for. Candler specifically stated that K.B.'s vagina "would be used one day to do things that we couldn't do right now." Appellant's App. p. 228. From 1990 to 1993--when K.B. ranged from about five to eight years old--K.B. continued to go over to Candler's house when her mother visited Berry. K.B. estimated that she did so on "more than five" occasions. Id. at 229. On some of these occasions, 2

K.B. performed oral sex on Candler, and he ejaculated into her mouth.

On other

occasions, Candler performed oral sex on K.B. by putting his tongue in her vagina. K.B. never told anyone about these incidents because Candler threatened to hurt her family. At first, K.B. did not realize what was happening. But once K.B. realized what was happening was wrong, she refused to visit Candler alone. K.B. did not tell anyone about the incidents with Candler until the age of fifteen when she told a friend because she wanted to be comforted. When she was sixteen years old, K.B. told an adult from church. K.B. told another friend when she was seventeen years old. Shortly thereafter, K.B. told her mother and stepfather, who promptly

contacted Child Protective Services. Thereafter, a police investigation ensued. In March 2003, the State charged Candler with two counts of Child Molesting as a Class B felony. 1 Thereafter, Candler filed a Rape Shield Notice pursuant to Indiana Code

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Indiana Law