Background
The defendant, Heather Nicole Bycroft, was charged with sexual exploitation of a child and possession of material involving the sexual exploitation of a minor based on videos found on her husband’s account. These videos depicted a young girl in a pool with her genitalia exposed. At trial, the government introduced other acts evidence consisting of videos Bycroft and her husband recorded in public locations where they filmed up women’s skirts. Bycroft argued this evidence was irrelevant and prejudicial.
The court’s reasoning
The court reviewed the district court’s evidentiary decision for an abuse of discretion. It found the other acts evidence relevant because the critical characteristic of surreptitiously recording female genitalia was identical in both sets of videos, despite differences in the age of the subjects and the specific methods used. The court held the evidence served proper purposes under Rule 404(b) to prove Bycroft’s identity, as her voice and physical features were identifiable in the prior acts, and to prove the absence of mistake or accident regarding the recording of the charged videos.
What it means going forward
The decision reinforces the admissibility of other acts evidence where the underlying conduct shares a critical common characteristic, even if the victims differ in age or the specific mechanics of the act vary slightly.
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