State v. Gabaree

Defendant appeals his conviction for the sexual assault of his thirteen-year-old daughter in violation of 13 V.S.A. § 3252(3). Defendant raises two issues on appeal: (1) that the trial court erred in failing to grant his pretrial request for a psychiatric evaluation of his daughter, and (2) that he was denied effective assistance of counsel. We affirm.

The charges against defendant were based primarily on his daughter’s statements to the police that her father had assaulted her. Little, if any, physical evidence existed to support her allegations. Defense counsel based his trial strategy upon…