This case has been cited 1 times or more.
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2006-09-08 |
TINGA, J. |
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| Studies show that children, particularly very young children, make the "perfect victims." They naturally follow the authority of adults as the socialization process teaches children that adults are to be respected. The child's age and developmental level will govern how much she comprehends about the abuse and therefore how much it affects her. If the child is too young to understand what has happened to her, the effects will be minimized because she has no comprehension of the consequences. Certainly, children have more problems in providing accounts of events because they do not understand everything they experience. They do not have enough life experiences from which to draw upon in making sense of what they see, hear, taste, smell and feel. Moreover, they have a limited vocabulary'. With her limited comprehension, the child could not have a perfect way of relating that she had been sexually abused.[39] (Emphasis and italics supplied) The record discloses that the questions propounded by the judge were intended to elicit the truth from the child witness. This perceived undue inquisitiveness of the judge did not unduly harm the substantial rights of the appellant. In fact, it is only to be expected from the judge who, with full consciousness of his responsibilities could not, and should not, easily be satisfied with incompleteness and obscurities in the testimonies of the witness.[40] | |||||