Petruschke v. State

Appellant, Luke Petruschke, appeals his convictions for two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation committed upon C.V., a three-year-old boy. We reverse for a new trial because the prosecutor made improper remarks that deprived appellant of a fair trial. We also write to address evidentiary issues that are likely to arise on retrial.

By way of background, appellant was a good friend of C.V.’s father and frequently came over to C.V.’s family’s house. According to C.V.’s mother, appellant was always “very, very nice” to C.V. and seemed concerned about him. When C.V. was alone in his room…