State v. Nab

Defendant was convicted of statutory rape, ORS 163.210, upon a girl 13 years of age, and has appealed.

There are a number of assignments of error, but only one that requires discussion. We have concluded that reversible error was committed by the trial court in cutting off the defendant’s right of cross-examination of the prosecutrix.

The prosecutrix lived in the home of her maternal grandparents, who were friends of the defendant. Her father has been several times divorced and she was not on good terms with him. The defendant, a man 50 years of age, whom the prosecutrix called “Uncle Walt”…