Commonwealth v. Frangipane

A jury in the Superior Court convicted the defendant of forcible rape of a child under the age of sixteen years, G. L. c. 265, § 22A, and indecent assault and battery on *528a person fourteen years or over, G. L. c. 265, § 13H. Represented by new counsel on appeal, the defendant contends that the trial judge erred in (1) admitting expert opinion testimony given by a social worker about the loss and recovery of a traumatic memory through dissociation1 because the opinion testimony, in significant respects, concerned scientific and medical matters beyond the scope of the witness’s competence; and…