H.S. Testimony at Trial

8/2/2019 H.S. Testimony at Trial

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hs-testimony-at-trial 1/16

A.

MJ:

WIT:

MJ:

TC:

MJ:

ADC:

MJ:

TC:

that it happened after he moved back into the house from

the barracks?Yes, sir. I think, sir. I've been trying to remember.

Sammy, thank you very much. Now, these other gentlemenmight have some questions for you so I need you to hangon. Okay?

Yes, sir.

Captain Ellis?

No questions,sir.

Lieutenant Gonzales?

No, sir.

Warning or recall?

Yes, sir.

The witness was warned, excused subject to recall, and withdrewfrom the courtroom.

MJ:

TC:

Additional evidence from the government?

Sir, the government calls H Skovranko.

Ms. H . Skovranko, a civilian, was called as a witness by theprosecution, was sworn, and testified as follows:

DIRECT EXAMINATION

Questions by the prosecution:

Q.A.

Q.

A.

A.

Q.

MJ:

What's your name?H

Could you tell us your full name?

H, Skovranko.

And how do you spell your last name.S-K-O-V-R-A-N-K-O.

H

Hold on a minute.

343



Captain Ellis, can I ask you to maybe move the

microphone a little closer.

The trial counsel complied.

MJ: H , I'm the judge. Okay? This my courtroom. Can Iask you to lean into that microphone and say hello forme.

WIT: Hello.

MJ: Okay. Thank you. I just want to use that microphone sowe can all hear what you have to say. All right?

WIT: All right.

MJ: Thank you.

Captain Ellis, please continue.

Questions by the prosecution continued:

Q. H , I just asked you to raise your right hand andlook kind of silly and say yes to that oath. What doyou think that means when you say that stuff?

A. To tell the truth and not a lie.

Q. And do you know the difference between the truth and alie?A. Yes.

Q. If I told you I was wearing yellow pants, what wouldthat be?

A. A lie.

Q. E , if I ask you something and you don't know or youdon't understand, can you tell me that?

A. Yes.

Q. Okay. So if I asked you what my dog's name is, what

would you say?A. I don't know.

Q. Okay. How old are you?A. Eight.

Q. Where do you live?A. South Carolina.

344



Q. What grade are you in right now? $^XJwA. Third tP

Q. What's your favorite subject?A. Social studies.

Q. What's your best subject?A. Math.

Q. Did you use to live in California?A. Yes.

Q. When you lived in California, did you live next door toMs. Gloria?

A. Yes?

Q, . Who else lived with Ms. Gloria?A. Randi, Sammy and Mr. Eddie.

Q. When you lived in California, did you have any pets?A. Yes.

Q. What pets did you have?A. Two dogs.

Q. Do you remember their names?A. Shelby and Patsy.

Q. Did Ms. Gloria have any pets?A. A gray cat named -- I'm not sure what the gray cat's

name was, and then she had some fish.

Q. Now, did you play with Randi and Sammy when you livednext door?

A. A little.

Q. What would you guys do?A. We would go swing on the tire swing and like play tag or

something.

Q. H , do you know why you are here today?A. Not really.

Q. Why did we ask you to come into court today?A. (No audible response.)

Q. Are you okay? What's wrong?

345



N S

MJ: H , I want you to know it's okay. Do you need to take

a break? All right. Just let Captain Ellis know orjust let me know. All right? We are in no rush here.No one is going to yell at you and no one is going tohu£jv-^zou—.ixi-Ji&re. Okay?

Do you understand that?

The witness nodded in the affirmative.

MJ: Let the record reflect that the witness shook her headyes.

Let me ask you this: Are you crying because you are

nervous?

I 'm scared.

You're scared? What are you scared of, H. ?

Mr. Eddie.

Who is Mr. Eddie?

I want my mommy.

All right. Do you want to talk to mommy?

Yeah.

Okay. We are going to take a brief recess.

The court will be in recess.

court-martial recessed at 1552, 20 August 2007.

court-martial was called to order at 1614, 20 August 2007.

This court is called back to order. All parties presentwhen the court last recessed are once again present.

The witness is joining us again here on the witnessstand.

H; , remember earlier you were talking to CaptainEllis about telling the truth?

WIT: Yes.

WIT

MJ:

'WIT

\MJ:

WIT

MJ:

WIT

MJ:

The

The

MJ:

.5

346



MJ: Okay. That still applies now Okay?

WIT: Okay.

MJ: That means you've still got to tell the truth now. Okay?

WIT: Okay.

MJ: Captain Ellis, why don't you come on up, please.

The trial counsel complied.

MJ: If you would, please continue.


Q. E , remember what we were talking about before?A. (The witness nodded head in the affirmative.)

Q. Okay. I'm going to ask you again do you know why you'rehere today?

A. Yes./1/ldA -C-

e

Q. Okay. Why are you here today.A. To tell what my story is.

Q. Okay. Tell us what Mr. Eddie did.A. ' He™puf"R±B~prTvate in front of me and then he put his

private in my mouth and like stuff came out and I'm not

sure what it tasted like or anything like that, andthen --

MJ: I , I need you to use the microphone. Okay? I knowthis is tough, but I need you to speak into themicrophone so I can hear you. All right? Okay?

The witness nodded head in the affirmative

MJ: I can't hear when you shake your head. You need to sayyes or no. Okay?

WIT: Okay.

MJ: Captain Ellis, continue.


Q. Tell us one more time as loud as you can. Okay.

347



\He spanked my butt and he was playing with himself,infront of me and -- andHjiFwas plavina with his body in'front of me and then hejput.a type_qf lotion on his hand

•and then ne put Bid private in my mouth and white"stuff"came out and I'm not sure what it tasted like or whathappened after that.

Q. f Okay. Do you remember where you were? VcX/^ WA. \I was upstairs in a bathroom and a bedroom.J

Q. Whose house was it?A. Ms. Gloria's.

Q. Do you remember the first time you told somebody aboutthis?

A. Yes.

Q. Where were you living when you told somebody?A. South Carolina.

Q. Where did this happen at? Where did you say he touchedyou? What state were you living in?

A. I was living in California.

Q. Do you know why you didn't tell until you moved to SouthCarolina?

A. Because I was too scared to tell and all of that.

Q. What made you scared?

Mr. Eddie.(

Q. What did he do to make you scared?A. He said that if I told anybody that my parents won't

love me.

TC: Okay. H , I don't have any more questions. Okay?The defense counsel is going to come up and ask you afew. Okay? Hold on just a second.

WIT: Okay.

MJ: Cross-examination?

DC: Thank you, sir.

348



CROSS-EXAMINATION

Questions by the defense:

Q. Hi, H;A. Hi.

/Q. Do you remember me from yesterday?A. Yes.

Q. I talked to you a little bit?A. Yes.

Q. Is it all right if I ask you a few questions?A. Uh-huh.

Q. If you need to take a break, let me know it and we'lltake a break.

A. Okay.

Q. Are you okay to go forward now?A. Yes.

Q. Are you sure?A. Uh-huh.

MJ: Lieutenant Melowcowsky, hold on a second.

Captain Ellis, if you want to come forward. Major

Plummer, Lieutenant Gonzales, if you need to moveforward to hear better please do so.

TC: Thank you, sir.

MJ: Go ahead.

DC: Thank you, sir.

Questions by the defense continued:

Q. H , how many times have you told this story. It'sall right if you don't know the exact number. Was it --

is it a little bit or is it a lot?A. A lot.

Q. More than ten times?A. Maybe.

349



*

Q.A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.A.

Q.A.

Q.

A.

Q.A.

Q.

A.

Q.A.

r/ And who have you told the story to?I I told it to>iRandi and then I -- with my mommy and

/ daddy. Well, actually Randi told my mom and dad.J - •

E , I'm going to ask you about the neighborhood thatyou lived in. Do you remember the house in Alderwood?A little.

Do you remember some of the other kids that played inthe neighborhood with you?

. I remember most of my friends that come -- that came to

my third birthday party and their names were ,and

Do you remember a boy named James?

Yes.

Did James ever touch you on your privates?No.

Do you remember when James may have grabbed you in your£ crotch? ""),* < $

NO. C *

Are tried to grab your crotch and you screamed?No.

I want to ask you about Ms. Gloria's house. Is that

what you called it?Yes.

That where Mr. Eddie lived, too?Yes.

Where was this house?I don't know the name of the street.

Was it in Alderwood? If you don't know it's okay.I think it was in Alderwood. I'm not really sure.

Did it have an upstairs or was it only one floor?

Ms. Gloria's house?

ItShad two floors. Z

*~ s

Two floors. Now -- and I know this is hard, but I wantyou to remember, we were just talking about the incident

350



A.

Q.

A.

Q.A.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.A.

Q.A.

Q.

Q.A.

Q.A.

Q.A.

Q.A.

that may have happened.Yes?

I want you to take your time and remember what room didthis happen in?Ms. Gloria's and Mr. Eddie's.

Where was that?Upstairs.

\ oAnd you talked about a couple of things. You talkedabout Mr. Eddie being on the computer. Do you rememberthat?No.

Oh, I'm sorry. I think you talked about Mr. Eddie may

have been touching his privates. Do you remember that?Yes.

And then you talked about Mr. Eddie putting his privatein your mouth. Is that what you said?Yes.

Did this all happen at the same time?happened all in the same day.

They all happened in the bedroom?Yes, sir.

Do you remember telling someone that Ms. Gloria was atthe house? I'm sorry, that Ms. Gloria came home andyelled at Mr. Eddie?A little, but not a lot.

Did she tell you to go home when she came home?Well, after my mom had to come pick me up because shewas at the Commissary.

Did she yell at Mr. Eddie when she got home?I think she did.

Do you remember telling something that Nana was in thehouse with you? \No. \

You don't remember that?No.

V \ A y\

351



Q. You don't remember Nana being there?A. I don't know if Nana was there or not.

Q. I just have a few more questions for you and we will beall done.

A. Okay.

Q. Do you remember Gloria's brother named Jimmy?A. Yes.

Q. Was he ever at the house?A. Sometimes he came to the house.

Q. Does he look like Mr. Eddie at all?A. No. Maybe a little, but not a lot.

Q. Is he Mr. Eddie's height?A. I don't know.

Q. And did anyone ever tell you that you would be a herofor telling this story?

A. My mommy and daddy.

Q. Do you know what, H , I don't have anymore questionsfor you. Okay? We're all done.

MJ: Lieutenant Meloweowsky, thank you.

Captain Ellis, do you have anymore questions?

TC: Sir, could I have one second, please?

MJ: Certainly.

The trial counsel conferred.

REDIRECT EXAMINATION

Questions by the prosecution:

Q. H , I just want to ask you about one thing. Okay?A, Okay.

Q. The man that was just talking to you he just asked youif anyone told you that you would be a hero if you toldthe story, right?

A. (The witness nodded head in the affirmative.)

352



Q. Did mommy and daddy tell you that you would be a hero ifyou told the truth?

A. Yeah.

TC: I don't have any other questions for you. Thank you.

I'm sorry, sir, could I have one moment?

MJ: Sure.



Q. H, .,I'm sorry, I forgot something. Can I ask you

one more question?

A. Yes.

Q. Okay. When you answered a couple of questions you were

talking about privates.A. Yeah.

Q. Do you know what -- what are privates to you? Do youknow any of the real names to call privates?

A. Yes.

Q. Could you -- it's embarrassing I know, but could youtell the judge if you know what privates are? What doyou call boys' privates?

A. Penis.

TC: Thank you, H

MJ: Lieutenant Melowcowsky, additional questions?

DC: Your Honor, may I have just one moment?

MJ: Certainly.

The defense counsel conferred.

DC: Sir, no more questions.

MJ: H , I want to ask you some questions now. Okay?

WIT: Okay, sir.

353



EXAMINATION BY THE COURT

Questions by the military judge:

Q.

A.

You were telling us earlier about things that happenedone day with Mr. Eddie.Yes, sir.

Q. Do you know how long that took?A. No, sir.

Q. Okay. When Mr. Eddie put his private in your mouth, didyou say anything to him or try to?

A. I can't remember.

Q. Did he say anything to you?

A. Not that I remember of, sir.

Q, I'm going to take some notes here. Okay? Can I ask youto hang on for me?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Thank you.

Did this all happen up in Ms. Gloria and Mr. Eddie'sbathroom?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. So did Mr. Eddie touch you in any place else other than

the bathroom?A. In the bedroom.

Q. What happened- -iti - - t h e -bedroom?A. - p *audible response.)

Q. H , do you remember?A. Not really.

Q. x^what happened in thejbathroom?A. %he— arae_&tu£-f~ thalf"*! told you earlier.

Q. And what was that.

A. Him spanking my butt, putting his private in my mouth,putting a type of lotion on and then playing withhimself.

Q. Did he spank your butt first?

354



A. Not that I know of, sir.

Q. I'm going to take some more notes. Okay?A. Okay.

Q. If I ask you two things, can you tell me what happenedfirst or if you don't remember?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did Mr. Eddie put his private in your mouth first or didhe put lotion on his private first or do you remember?

A. No, sir, I do not remember of.

Q. I'm going to take some more notes. Okay, H ?A. Okay.

Q. He , if I use the word or the words "dirty pictures"do you know what that means? If you don't, you can sayso.

A. Not really.

Q. Okay. How about if I use the term— the word "naked",

do you know what the word "naked" means?A. Yes.

Q. What does it mean?A. It means that you have no clothes on.

Q. Did you ever see -- did Mr. Eddie ever show you picturesof people with no clothes on?

A. No, sir.

Q. I'm going to take some more notes. Okay?A. Okay.

Q. H ,1 want to ask you some more questions about whenMr. Eddie told you that your parents wouldn't love youanymore.

A. Okay, sir.

Q. When did he say that to .you?

A, I think when everything was done or something like that.I'm not really sure.

Q. Well, why do you think that?A. I think he told me before Ms. Gloria got home from work.

V

Q. What makes you say that?

355



Q.

A.

Q.A.

Q.A.

Q.A.

Q.A.

Q.A.

Q -A.

Q.

A.

Q.A.

Q.A.

Q.

A,

Q.A.

Q.

A.

Q.A.

I don't know, sir.

Mr. Eddie ever say that he would kick you?

Not that I'm aware of .

Did Mr. Eddie ever say that he would punch you?Not that I'm aware of.

You are in the third grade, right, H,- .?Yes, sir.

Can you tell me what the word "punch" means?To like hit somebody.

Hit them how?With your fist crumbled up into

Did Mr. Eddie ever punch you?No, sir.

Did Mr. Eddie ever kick you?No, sir.

? Is it a littlehat do you have in your hand, H r

name tag?(Witness nodded head in the affirmative.)

Is that a yes?Yes.

Don't forget to use the microphone phone. Okay?{Witness nodded head in the affirmative.)

, I want to talk to you again about the part whereMr. Eddie put his private in your mouth.Okay.

Did he say anything to you when he did that?Not that I'm aware of.

• • v ,Did he -- when he put his private in your mouth did hedo anything else?No, sir.

I'm sorry, I didn't understand.No, sir.

So he didn't move?

\

356



A. I'm not sure about that.

Q. Are you sure that Mr, Eddie put his private in your

mouth?A. Yes, sir.

Q. Why are you sure of that?A. Because when I was little I knew that he did it because

I saw him.

Q. Did you ever go back to Mr. Eddie's house after that dayit happened?

A. No, sir, but Ms. Gloria and Randi and Sammy did come, over to our house to visit.

Q. / Now, H , if I'm right, if I remember correctly, this

all happened when Mr. Eddie had a house with two\stories, right?

A. \ Yes.

Q. I Were you living next door to him at that time?\A. I think so.

\MJ: H

WIT: Yes, sir.

MJ: -- I need to take a little bit of a break. Okay?

WIT: Okay.

MJ: What we're going to do is I'm going to take this littlegavel here and I'm going to have the court go intorecess. You have recess at school, right?

WIT: Yeah.

MJ: Okay. Well, we're not going to be running around here,but what we're going to do is I'm going to take a break?

WIT: Okay, sir.

MJ: And you can take a break, too.

WIT: Okay.

MJ: Now, are there any rules at recess in your school?

357



WIT: No like hitting each other or anything like that.

MJ: Okay. Well, here in raycourtroom we have some additionalrules. You're not allowed to hit anybody And I don'twant you to talk about what we' re talking about withanyone except Captain Ellis or Major Plummer orLieutenant Melowcowsky. Okay?

WIT: Okay, sir.

MJ: So just take a break and we'll going to -- we'll be rightback. All right?

WIT: All right.

MJ: All right. The court will be in recess.

The court-martial recessed at 1644, 20 August 2007.

The court-martial was called to order at 1655, 20 August 2007.

MJ: This court is called back to order. All parties presentwhen the court last recessed are once again present.

The witness is still on the witness stand.

H , I don't have any more question for you rightnow. Okay?

WIT: Okay.

MJ: Let me just -- sit back for a little bit.

Questions in light of mine, Captain Ellis?

TC: Can I have one moment, sir?

MJ: Certainly.


TC: No, sir.

MJ: Lieutenant Melowcowsky?

DC: No, sir.

MJ: Warning or recall? ^

358

H.S. Testimony at Trial

Documents

Transcript of H.S. Testimony at Trial