EDITOR’S NOTE: This story contains graphic descriptions of child sexual abuse.
Jurors in the trial of an Odessa man accused of sodomizing and raping a 5-year-old girl heard testimony Tuesday there was some physical evidence to back up the child’s claim.
Tuesday was the first day in Dakota Lee Hoyt’s trial on three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, a first-degree felony that is punishable by five to 99 years or life in prison.
Assistant Ector County District Attorneys Melissa Rayne and William Prasher represent the state and Scott Layh is defending Hoyt.
The 30-year-old was indicted in October 2021 after family members reported the suspected abuse, a forensic interview was conducted and a physical exam was performed by a sexual assault nurse examiner.
Martha Banda, the registered nurse who examined the child at Medical Center Hospital, told jurors she saw no trauma when she examined the child’s vaginal area. However, she did observe abnormalities when she examined the child’s rectum.
Jurors also heard from Araceli Arellano, a former forensic interviewer at Harmony Home who has been trained to ask non-leading questions of sexual assault victims and who has performed over 530 such interviews.
Arellano said the child’s first statement to her was Hoyt “does nasty stuff. He puts his privates in my face, in my private parts and in my butt.”
The girl told her the acts happened “a lot” and they hurt her and made her want to cry, Arellano said. She also said that when Hoyt “peed” in her mouth it tasted disgusting.
The little girl further told her Hoyt had taken pictures of her privates, Arellano said.
Under cross-examination from Layh, Arellano acknowledged the child used the same words in the same sequence every time she spoke about the acts. She also testified no pornographic pictures of the girl were found on his phone.
She also agreed the girl seemed “happy and playful” throughout their time together and recalled how, after telling a family member what had happened, the family member gave her candy.
Arellano also acknowledged the child’s siblings told her in separate interviews the girl lies a lot.
Under re-direct, Arellano told Rayne it’s normal for 5-year-olds to be playful even during such interviews and most are unaware of things like sexual abuse. She also told the prosecutor she suspected the siblings had been coached prior to the interview because they both said their sister “was lying on” Hoyt and trying to make him go to jail.
In addition, even though the child made the unlikely claim some of the acts took place while Hoyt was playing a game on his phone involving Martians and soldiers, the girl also described times when Hoyt wanted her to tell him what he was doing felt good and she refused because it did not.
The first witness to take the stand was a family member who told jurors she was bathing the child when she noticed the girl’s “heinie” was red. When she asked her about it, the child told her Hoyt had put his privates in her butt, the woman testified.
The woman told a family member and it was that family member who called authorities, she said.
The entire family has since moved out of state, she said.
Under cross-examination from Layh, the woman insisted any confusion about dates of events could be attributed to her age. She’d testified the child told her about the abuse during the first week of July, but Layh said the evidence will show the abuse wasn’t reported until July 21.
She also insisted the children were never left alone with a family friend who is a registered sex offender.
The woman had to be repeatedly reminded by Judge John Shrode of the 358th Ector County District Court to stop interrupting the attorneys during their questioning and for repeatedly making comments beyond what was asked of her. She also laughed when Rayne objected to some of Layh’s questions and Shrode sustained the objections.
After the final interruption, Shrode asked her if she understood his instructions and she replied, “Yes.”
“It’s ‘Yes, sir’ or ‘Yes, Your Honor,’ you don’t want to interrupt me,” Shrode said.
After being excused from the witness stand, the witness loudly exclaimed, “I don’t want to look at him anymore anyway,” when she was told she couldn’t remain in the courtroom.
The witness was referring to Hoyt, and during a conference at the bench, Shrode was overheard telling the prosecutors they needed to have a talk with the witness.
According to court documents, prosecutors have asked Shrode for permission to admit evidence during the trial that, while on the internet, Hoyt discussed sending photos and describing the manner in which he would sexually assault the girl and engaged in discussions about bestiality, incest, minor girls and child pornography.
Court records show Hoyt has an extensive criminal history which includes one felony conviction and several misdemeanor convictions.
