Commonwealth v. Ruffen

*812Nolan, J.

The defendant was convicted of indecent assault and battery on a child under fourteen, rape of a child by force, and unnatural and lascivious acts with a child under sixteen. The Appeals Court affirmed the convictions. 21 Mass. App. Ct. 90 (1985). We granted the defendant’s application for further appellate review. We reverse and order a new trial.

The defendant challenges two evidentiary rulings made by the trial judge.

1. Admissibility of the defendant’s denial. The victim, then ten years old, lived in an apartment with her mother and her mother’s boy friend. The defendant, a friend…