Sides v. State

John Randall Sides was convicted of first-degree sexual assault, a violation of § 13A-6-66, Ala.Code 1975, for abusing his six-year-old niece. At trial, Sides attempted to present the testimony of his sister, Tammy McGrady, to show that the child had made previous false allegations of sexual abuse. The prosecutor argued that the testimony was hearsay and moved to exclude it; the trial court granted the motion. On appeal, Sides argued that the trial court erred to reversal and that he should have been permitted to present testimony concerning the child’s prior false allegation because it…