A Witness Cannot Comment on the Victim’s Veracity, or Say the Victim is Telling the Truth. Child Molestation Case Dismissed.

In Flores-Avila v. The State, the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed Rene Flores-Avila’s convictions for aggravated sexual battery and child molestation. This was a case about Improper Bolstering, which means a witness vouches for another’s credibility or gives an opinion on truthfulness. For example, “I believe Witness A” or “Witness B is telling the truth” is not allowed in trial.

Flores-Avila was initially convicted. The victim accused him of sexually abusing her over several years. There was no physical evidence to corroborate her testimony. During the trial, the victim’s mother testified that her daughter “doesn’t lie” and was “telling the truth” about the allegations against Flores-Avila.

The Court of Appeals determined this to be improper bolstering of the victim’s credibility. The Court further ruled that the improper bolstering likely affected the outcome of the trial due to the lack of corroborating evidence. As a result, the Court reversed Flores-Avila’s convictions and remanded the case for a new trial.

The law at issue in this case was: O.C.G.A. § 17-3-2.1 and “What is forbidden is … testimony that directly addresses the credibility of the victim, i.e., ‘I believe the victim; I think the victim is telling the truth.’” Anderson v. State, 337 Ga. App. 739, 748 (3) (c) (788 SE2d 831) (2016) (citation and punctuation omitted).