Perez v. State

OPINION

By the Court,

Parraguirre, J.:

In this appeal, we are concerned with the admissibility of expert testimony related to sex offender grooming behavior and the effect that behavior has on a child victim. “Grooming” generally describes conduct or actions by an offender that are undertaken to develop a bond between the victim and offender and, ultimately, make the victim more receptive to sexual activity with the offender. In particular, we address whether (1) the district court abused its discretion in concluding that the State’s expert was qualified to offer grooming behavior testimony, (2)…