Ward v. State

Deen, Presiding Judge.

The appellant, Donald Ward, was convicted of molesting his daughter. On appeal, he contends that the trial court erred in certain evidentiary rulings, and that the evidence did not support the conviction. Held:

1. The trial court found the seven-year-old child victim incompetent to testify. Prior to that finding, however, the trial court had allowed the child’s mother and grandfather to testify about the child’s out-of-court statements relating how her father had molested her. Had the child been a competent witness, and thus “available to testify in the proceedings,” this…