State v. J.D.

JUDGE WEFING

(temporarily assigned) delivered the opinion of the Court.

In this appeal, we are again called upon to balance the exquisite tension that inheres in protecting a defendant’s right to challenge the individual accusing him of a crime while at the same time protecting the victim of a sexual assault from unjustified incursions into past conduct. Defendant, who was convicted at trial of sexual assault, N.J.S.A 2C:14-2(c), and endangering the welfare of a child, N.J.S.A 2C:24-4(a), argues that the trial court and the Appellate Division, which affirmed his convictions and sentence, struck…