Defense wants expert witness to testify there is no link between homosexuality and child molestation

MOBILE, Al.
  Attorneys will make opening statements here in a few minutes in the sexual abuse trial of Dustin O. Raybon.
Still unsettled, however, is whether Raybon’s attorney will be allowed to call an expert witness to testify that homosexuals are no more likely to molest children than heterosexuals.

Dustin O. Raybon

Raybon stands accused of sexually abusing 3 children on the Poarch Creek Indian Reservation in Atmore over the last 8 years. Assistant Federal Defender Chris Knight wants to be able to take testimony from Hollida Wakefield, a licensed psychologist from Minnesota.
Prosecutors, however, have asked U.S. District Judge Kristi DuBose to bar Wakefield from testifying on grounds that it is irrelevant and might confuse the jury.
“Sexual orientation of the defendant is not a fact in issue and not an element of any offense charged,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Daryl Atchison wrote in a court filing. “What’s relevant is what the defendant actually did or did not do in this case, not the statistics for the types of offenders who generally commit this type of crime.”
At a hearing Friday, DuBose said she would make a final decision on Wakefield’s testimony during the trial. But she prohibited attorneys from talking about the issue during their opening statements.
DuBose said she could understand why Wakefield’s testimony might be helpful if prosecutors were making an issue of Raybon’s sexual orientation.
“The government hasn’t made this an issue. You’ve made it an issue,” she told Knight last week.
Knight mentioned his client’s sexual orientation during jury selection. He said Raybond, 26, intends to testify.
“It’s part of who he is,” Knight told DuBose. “He deserves to be able to tell his story.”
If convicted of aggravated sexual abuse, Raybon faces 30 years to life in prison.