State v. Hetrick 134 Wash. App. 1003 (2006)
Jul 16, 2006OUTCOME: Lead Prosecutor. Guilty Verdict. Conviction affirmed on appeal.
Gina M. Buskirk, Kitsap Co. Pros. Office, Port Orchard, WA for Respondent Juvenile criminal trial on single charge of first degree child rape. Defendant convicted at trial and appealed his convicti ... on. Both trial and appeal handled by Ms. Buskirk. Excerpt from Court of Appeals confirming conviction: "Dustin M. Hetrick appeals his adjudication of first degree child rape. He claims that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that sexual intercourse took place and that the juvenile court did not apply close scrutiny to the complaining witness’s testimony. Finding no error, we affirm." [...] "Our review of the record leads us to affirm Hetrick's adjudication. While there were discrepancies between J.A.'s testimony, her pre-trial statements, and some of the other witnesses' recollections, she was subject to extensive cross-examination.1 This process did not controvert her statements regarding the rape itself. She testified that he pulled their pants down, that he put his penis inside her, that his penis was the same color as his skin, and that he asked her, ‘Am I deep enough?’ RP at 53–54. We weigh in this assessment, as the trial court did, that J.A. was eleven years old, developmentally delayed, and apparently at a loss to adequately explain time and distance. In our view, the juvenile court meaningfully scrutinized J.A.'s testimony before concluding that she was credible. See State v. Peterson, 2 Wn.App. 464, 469 P.2d 980 (1970); State v. Roberts, 25 Wn.App. 830, 834, 611 P.2d 1297 (1980). The juvenile court could find that J.A. testified truthfully and that Hetrick raped her."
