Commonwealth v. Silva

*609 The defendant was convicted by a Superior Court jury of separate incidents of indecent assault and battery on three of his step-granddaughters. During trial, a fourth alleged victim, one of the defendant's daughters, took the stand and gave some testimony that was inculpatory to *610 the defendant, but ultimately balked and was relieved from testifying further on self-incrimination grounds. The trial judge accordingly struck all of the daughter's testimony, instructed the jury to disregard it, and denied the defendant's motion for a mistrial. The defendant appeals, claiming, among other grounds,…