Rodriguez v. State

Hilton Rodriguez (defendant) appeals his judgments and sentences entered by the trial court after a jury found him guilty of sexual activity with a child 12 years of age or older while in a position of familial or custodial authority,1 lewd or lascivious molestation of a child 12 to 15 years old,2 and contributing to the delinquency or dependency of a child.3 Determining that the trial court erred by admitting irrelevant evidence of the defendant’s collateral crimes or bad acts, we reverse and remand for a new trial.

The State presented the testimony of the victim’s mother, who was the…