Commonwealth v. Eden Jacques

Summary

The court held that prior sexual abuse falls within the rape-shield statute's prohibition on evidence of a victim's specific sexual conduct. It nevertheless concluded that the trial judge violated the defendant's constitutional confrontation rights by completely barring cross-examination about distinctive similarities between the complainant's allegations against the defendant and her allegations against a third party, and that the error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. The court reversed the sexual-offense convictions and remanded for a new trial, while affirming the evidence-tampering conviction.