Name: Thomas G. Barron
Case: United States v. Barron No. 98-0210
Argued January 12, 1999
Decided September 27, 1999
Plea: Not Guilty
Charges: Indecent Acts and Assault Upon A Chil, age 8
Military Branch: U.S. Army
Listed In National Sex Offenders Registry? Yes, Texas
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Thomas G. Barron
Sergeant U.S. Army
Convicted Sex Offender
Indecent Acts And Assault Upon 8-Year-Old Child
Judge SULLIVAN delivered the opinion of the Court.
Appellant was tried by a general court-martial composed of officer members at Fort Stewart, Georgia, on various dates in 1995. Contrary to his pleas, he was found guilty of committing indecent acts with a minor female (2 specifications) and indecent assault on that same child (2 specifications), in violation of Article 134, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 USC § 934.
On June 29, 1995, he was sentenced to a bad-conduct discharge, 4 years’ confinement, forfeiture of $854.00 pay per month for 6 months, and reduction to the lowest enlisted pay grade. On March 25, 1996, the convening authority approved the adjudged sentence. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the findings and sentence on November 19, 1997.
The record before us shows that appellant was charged with a series of sexual acts with J.D., an 8-year-old girl. J.D. was the daughter of appellant’s off-base friend and a close companion of his family. She testified that appellant committed various indecent sexual acts and assaults upon her.
As part of the prosecution’s case-in-chief, Dr. Sharon Cooper was called and qualified as an expert witness in pediatric medicine, developmental behavioral pediatrics, and the identification and treatment of sexually and physically abused children. During Dr. Cooper’s testimony, she referred to therapy reports on the alleged victim prepared by Linda Barnes of the Savannah Psychotherapy Center, which she reviewed in preparation for her testimony. The defense objected and claimed it had not received a copy of these reports. The military judge agreed that these reports should be made available to the defense and ordered their production. The record reflects that the judge allowed the Government to complete its direct examination of Dr. Cooper but also granted a continuance to the defense in order to allow them additional time to review the newly disclosed evidence and consult with their expert. The judge also allowed defense counsel to conduct its cross-examination of Dr. Cooper at a later date.
The defense subsequently requested all the materials that Dr. Cooper actually used to prepare for her testimony. Dr. Cooper testified that she did not want to disclose these materials because she made personal notes and impressions on these documents. The military judge ordered the documents to be produced without her notes.
Defense counsel also made an objection regarding the failure of the Government to provide full discovery. The Government had recently acquired still another medical report from Linda Barnes. The judge granted the defense request to preclude Dr. Cooper from discussing this additional record if she were called to testify again.
After the defense rested, trial counsel asked for reconsideration of the above-noted instruction. The trial judge denied this motion and stated that he still considered Dr. Cooper an expert witness. Dr. Cooper then testified in rebuttal. The defense exercised its option to cross-examine her, and asked if she passed notes and suggested questions. Dr. Cooper admitted as much, and testified that she behaved as she routinely did in every case. The military judge subsequently gave a standard expert-testimony instruction for all experts at trial, including Dr. Cooper.
We note that the defense was afforded a 30-day continuance prior to its cross-examination of this expert because of the prosecution’s delayed discovery conduct. It elected not to call the prosecution expert back to the stand for purposes of cross-examination, although it did ultimately cross-examine her when she was recalled by the prosecution as a rebuttal witness. The belatedly-disclosed therapy reports were not mentioned during this cross-examination; nor was a defense motion made to strike her testimony in its entirety because of these reports. Moreover, other evidence was admitted showing the victim’s post-offense behavior, which was similar to that described in the therapy reports relied upon by Dr. Cooper. Finally, appellant, in his brief before this Court, has not indicated how his defense would have been altered if he had received these reports earlier. In these circumstances, we see no prejudice. Art. 59(a), UCMJ, 10 USC § 859(a). The decision of the United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals is affirmed.
