Sec. 54-86f. Admissibility of evidence of sexual conduct.
Sec. 54-86f. Admissibility of evidence of sexual conduct. In any prosecution for
sexual assault under sections 53a-70, 53a-70a, and 53a-71 to 53a-73a, inclusive, no
evidence of the sexual conduct of the victim may be admissible unless such evidence
is (1) offered by the defendant on the issue of whether the defendant was, with respect
to the victim, the source of semen, disease, pregnancy or injury, or (2) offered by the
defendant on the issue of credibility of the victim, provided the victim has testified on
direct examination as to his or her sexual conduct, or (3) any evidence of sexual conduct
with the defendant offered by the defendant on the issue of consent by the victim, when
consent is raised as a defense by the defendant, or (4) otherwise so relevant and material
to a critical issue in the case that excluding it would violate the defendant's constitutional
rights. Such evidence shall be admissible only after a hearing on a motion to offer such
evidence containing an offer of proof. On motion of either party the court may order such
hearing held in camera, subject to the provisions of section 51-164x. If the proceeding is
a trial with a jury, such hearing shall be held in the absence of the jury. If, after hearing,
the court finds that the evidence meets the requirements of this section and that the
probative value of the evidence outweighs its prejudicial effect on the victim, the court
may grant the motion. The testimony of the defendant during a hearing on a motion to
offer evidence under this section may not be used against the defendant during the trial
if such motion is denied, except that such testimony may be admissible to impeach the
credibility of the defendant if the defendant elects to testify as part of the defense.
(P.A. 82-230; P.A. 83-113; P.A. 85-347.)
History: P.A. 83-113 added requirement that motion to offer evidence of prior sexual conduct contain an offer of proof
and provision re admissibility of testimony of defendant to impeach credibility if defendant elects to testify; P.A. 85-347
deleted "prior" before "sexual conduct" and added "any" before "evidence".
Cited. 195 C. 253. Cited. 197 C. 280. Cited. 199 C. 193; Id., 481. Cited. 207 C. 403. Cited. 208 C. 365. Cited. 209 C.
143. Cited. 220 C. 345. Cited. 228 C. 456. Cited. 230 C. 43. Defendant failed to make an adequate preliminary showing
of relevancy in order to justify cross examination of plaintiff's father about plaintiff's statement concerning a prior sexual
assault investigation. 244 C. 640. Court sets forth standard applicable to child sexual abuse cases re determining whether
prior sexual conduct should be admissible at trial for purposes of showing an alternative source for victim's sexual knowledge. Standard also applicable for determining admissibility of evidence of prior sexual conduct for purposes of rebutting
evidence offered by expert witness to show that a child exhibits behavior indicative of sexual abuse, by showing an
alternative explanation for that behavior. 257 C. 156. Evidence of victim's prior history of prostitution admissible to
establish consent to sexual relations or motive to provide false testimony but not to establish general unchaste character.
270 C. 826. Court improperly excluded testimony proffered by defendant re victim's prior statements about past sexual
conduct after victim testified to having no prior sexual experience at time of assault. 280 C. 36.
Cited. 3 CA 374. Cited. 8 CA 44; Id., 190. Cited. 11 CA 673. Cited. 14 CA 451; Id., 688. Rape victim's shield law also
cited. Id. Cited. 20 CA 263. Cited. 21 CA 411. Cited. 23 CA 221. Cited. 29 CA 409; Id., 642. Cited. 30 CA 56. Cited. 34
CA 473. Cited. 35 CA 173. Cited. 38 CA 100. Cited. 42 CA 445. Cited. 43 CA 667; Id., 680; Id., 715. Cited. 45 CA 116.
Defendant's rights under statute were impermissibly impaired when trial court excluded evidence of victim's consensual
sexual relations with the lead detective investigating her claim of sexual assault; such evidence was relevant to the substantive issue of consent raised by defendant and was offered for sole purpose of determining victim's credibility and the
inconsistency of her behavior following an alleged traumatic sexual assault. 57 CA 32. Court did not improperly exclude
evidence of semen from third party on victim's clothing. 68 CA 470. Legislative intent of rape shield statute discussed.
Legislature also provided for exceptions in rare instances. Defendant entitled to proffer direct testimony re physical evidence
tending to show misidentification. Subdiv. (1) does not specify that such evidence offered by defendant may be rebuttal
evidence only. 85 CA 96. Court did not improperly exclude evidence concerning victim's prior sexual conduct because
court found that such evidence was not credible and therefore not relevant. 85 CA 575. Exclusion of evidence relating to
victim's alleged sexual interactions with his brothers did not violate defendant's sixth amendment rights because such
evidence was properly excluded as irrelevant. 99 CA 274. Trial court abused its discretion in refusing to grant evidentiary
hearing to determine admissibility of evidence of plaintiff's prior sexual conduct; evidence from police reports of two
prior allegations, which presented facts that tended to demonstrate the falsity of plaintiff's prior allegations, sufficient as
offers of proof and relevant to the issue of whether defendant used force in committing the sexual assault. 106 CA 517.
Subdiv. (1):
Court improperly excluded DNA evidence re semen from individual other than defendant under Subdiv. because
evidence was offered by defendant to prove misidentification by victim, not to expose victim's past sexual conduct. 280
C. 285.
Psychological injury is not recognized as an injury for purposes of Subdiv. 99 CA 274.
Subdiv. (2):
"Subdivision (2) of rape shield law" cited. 43 CA 715. Does not apply where the only sexual conduct to which victim
testifies is alleged sexual conduct by defendant. 99 CA 274.
Subdiv. (4):
Cited. 23 CA 225. "Subdivision (4) of statute" cited. 43 CA 715. Evidence admitted under Subdiv. must be both material
and relevant in order to be so critical that its exclusion could lead to a violation of defendant's constitutional rights. 99
CA 274.