Malave v. State
Malave v. State
Opinion of the Court
Appellant, Julio Malave, appeals the judgment and sentence imposed after a jury found him guilty of two counts of sexual battery upon a mentally defective adult, one count of lewd or lascivious battery upon a disabled person, two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation of a disabled adult, one count of committing an unnatural or lascivious act, and one count of incest. We agree with Appellant that the trial court erred in admitting the victim's statement to the Child Protection Team investigator. However, we conclude that *671the erroneous admission of the statement constituted harmful error only as to Appellant's convictions on counts V and VI, in which the jury found him guilty of lewd or lascivious molestation of a disabled adult and the lesser included offense of committing an unnatural or lascivious act, respectively. We remand for a new trial on those counts. In all other respects, we affirm.
The State charged Appellant with several counts arising out of allegations that he had sexual relations with his twenty-seven-year-old, mentally disabled granddaughter, after the victim's mother reported one incident to the police. The State filed its notice of intent to introduce the statement the victim made to the Child Protection Team ("CPT statement"). The State sought to introduce the statement under section 90.803(24), Florida Statutes (2017), which provides a hearsay exception for out-of-court statements of a disabled adult under certain circumstances. Appellant argued that pursuant to Crawford v. Washington ,
The trial court ultimately permitted admission of the CPT statement, relying on State v. Townsend ,
Here, the circumstances surrounding the CPT statement are indistinguishable from those in which courts have deemed a statement testimonial for Confrontation Clause purposes. See, e.g. , State v. Contreras ,
Because we find error, we next consider whether this error was harmless. "Violations of the Confrontation Clause, where preserved, are subject to harmless error analysis." Corona v. State ,
Considering the additional evidence presented at trial, including Appellant's confession,
AFFIRMED in part, REVERSED in part, and REMANDED.
COHEN, LAMBERT, and SASSO, JJ., concur.
This issue was properly preserved for appellate review. See, e.g. , Corona v. State ,
We disagree with Appellant's argument that the trial court erred in admitting his confession. There is sufficient corroborating evidence in the record to support the trial court's finding of trustworthiness. The trial court provided a detailed analysis of why it found the victim's statements sufficiently trustworthy and reiterated it was relying on this in finding Appellant's confession admissible. In addition, the trial court noted it considered the victim's mother's statement and the nature of Appellant's confession.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.