Oregon Court of Appeals Reverses Sodomy Conviction

Last week, the Oregon Court of Appeals overturned the sex abuse and sodomy conviction of a man, after it found that the lower court erred in allowing a previous victim's testimony in the trial. The appeals court observed that permitting evidence from a 2006 case against the defendant to be admitted in the recent case, led to an "impermissible inference about (Roquez's) character - i.e., that defendant has a propensity to sexually abuse women." The case has been sent back to the Morrow County Circuit Court.

In the instant case, a woman accused Roquez of sexual abuse, rape, and sodomy in 2010.

Before start of the trial, prosecutors sought to enter evidence of a previous sexual assault made by Roquez in 2006, in a case that was unrelated to the instant case of rape. In the previous matter, Roquez had pled guilty to second-degree sexual abuse.

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In the instant case, a woman, who was supposedly having an affair with Roquez, brought the complaint against him.

Both Roquez and the woman were married, and when the woman wanted to end the affair, Roquez wanted to have sex with her a last time and threatened that he would tell their spouses of the affair if the woman refused her. Then, according to the woman, the sex became violent.

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A doctor confirmed evidence of sexual assault and Roquez was charged with first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy and two counts of second-degree sexual abuse.

Though Roquez's defense lawyers argued that the previous case was unrelated and inadmissible, the judge allowed the prosecutors to submit the evidence.

The trial judge also instructed the jurors that they could consider the testimony of the victim in the 2006 case against Roquez to determine whether Roquez knew that he was committing a crime in the instant case before the court.

The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that admission of the evidence from the previous case was an error committed by the lower court.