BRADFORD, J.
Following Amos’s testimony, the State introduced testimony from domestic violence expert Yvonne Creekbaum, over defense counsel’s objection, that victims of domestic violence routinely recant their stories. According to Creekbaum, whose testimony was not based upon the facts of the instant case, domestic violence victims may recant out of fear for their abuser or financial considerations, among other reasons.
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Otte also claims that Creekbaum’s testimony constituted impermissible vouching testimony in violation of Indiana Evidence Rule 704(b). Rule 704(b) states as follows: “Witnesses may not testify to opinions concerning intent, guilt, or innocence in a criminal case; the truth or falsity of allegations; whether a witness has testified truthfully; or legal conclusions.”
The State claims that Creekbaum’s testimony was not vouching testimony because she never directly referred to the truthfulness of Amos’s testimony. Creekbaum’s testimony was introduced to provide an explanation for the phenomenon of recantation, after defense counsel opened the door to that issue, rather than to reflect upon the actual truth or falsity of either of Amos’s 2009 or instant allegations. Significantly, Creekbaum’s testimony was not directly tied to Amos; Creekbaum had not observed or examined Amos and was making non-specific statements about how victims of domestic abuse behave in general. This court has previously observed that expert testimony explaining the behavior of victims of domestic violence which is not based upon personal knowledge does not cross the line into impermissible vouching. Iqbal v. State, 805 N.E.2d 401, 409-10 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004).
Admittedly, Creekbaum’s testimony operated to explain away Amos’s recantation, arguably attesting to the truth of her past allegations and, consequently, the credibility of her testimony. Nevertheless, we cannot find a Rule 704(b) violation. In Carter v. State, 754 N.E.2d 877, 882-83 (Ind. 2001), the Supreme Court permitted, in a case involving an autistic child witness, expert testimony regarding autistic children’s general inability to deliberately deceive others. While the Indiana Supreme Court recently overturned longstanding precedent permitting “indirect” vouching in child cases, see Hogland, 962 N.E.2d at 1237, it left Carter intact, reasoning that the child’s autism “compounded the issues,” confronting the jury with evidence which fell “‘outside common experience,’” and that the expert testimony was necessary to “‘supplement the jurors’ insight.’” Hoglund, 962 N.E.2d at 1237 n.9 (quoting Carter, 754 N.E. 2d at 882-83).
The domestic abuse at issue in the instant case compounds the issue in the same way that autism compounded the issue in Carter. As this court has previously observed, the reactions and behaviors of domestic violence victims are not commonly understood by laypersons. Odom v. State, 711 N.E.2d 71, 75 (Ind. Ct. App. 1999), trans. denied. Consistent with this view, this court has endorsed the use of expert testimony about domestic abuse/battered woman syndrome to explain witness recantation. See id. at 72 n.2, 77 (domestic abuse); Carnahan v. State, 681 N.E.2d 1164, 1166-68 (Ind. Ct. App. 1997) (battered woman syndrome); see also Iqbal, 805 N.E.2d at 409-10 (affirming use of expert testimony to “educate[] the jury on the complexity of behavior of domestic violence victims”); Like in Carter, testimony regarding a victim’s propensity to recant in this context simply provides the jury with information outside its experience, permitting it to assess credibility based upon a more complete understanding of all potential factors at issue. We find no Rule 704 violation.
CRONE, J., concurs.
VAIDIK, J., concurs in result with opinion:
I write separately because I believe Creekbaum’s testimony was admissible under Indiana Evidence Rule 702 as syndrome evidence to help the jury understand why Colleen Amos recanted certain allegations she had made against Otte. Battered Women’s Syndrome (“BWS”) helps to explain why a victim of domestic violence may recant allegations of violence against her abuser. Such syndrome evidence is admissible to counter the inference that the victim’s behavior or statement is inconsistent with the event having occurred.