Generally, Rule Four Twelve of the Federal Rules of Evidence, or F R E, prohibits a defendant from presenting evidence of an alleged rape victim’s prior sexual conduct unless exclusion of the evidence would violate the defendant’s constitutional rights. In addition, a court may admit evidence of a victim’s prior sexual conduct only if it’s relevant and if its probative value isn’t substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. In United States versus Knox, the United States Air Force Court of Military Review considered whether evidence of an alleged rape victim’s prior sexual history was admissible to show the defendant’s state of mind.
Lucien Castonguay and Bobby Knox were two sergeants in the United States Air Force. In addition, both men worked in the same shop at the Kadena Air Base in Japan. Castonguay was intimately involved with a woman in the air force named Theresa, who also worked at the shop. In April of nineteen eighty-nine, Castonguay, Knox, and Theresa began drinking and celebrating the end of the workweek with their coworkers. After drinking a few beers, Knox invited Theresa and Castonguay to his dorm room. The three continued to drink, and Theresa told Knox that he could sleep in her dorm room because his bed was already occupied.
Castonguay, Knox, and Theresa then went to Theresa’s dorm room, and Theresa fell asleep next to Castonguay in his bed.
The next morning, Theresa awoke to someone having sex with her. She first assumed it was Castonguay but then saw it was Knox. Theresa started crying and called for Castonguay to get Knox out of the room. As Castonguay jumped off the bed, Knox told Castonguay they messed up. In response, Castonguay stated it was all right. Theresa then told them to leave.
Subsequently, Theresa called the Rape Intervention Crisis Center. Knox and Castonguay were then both separately charged with rape and conspiring to commit rape. At trial, Knox sought to introduce evidence that Theresa had a reputation for promiscuity, that she’d taken her top off at a bar and at that party, and that she had performed sexual acts in the presence of others. The trial judge admitted some portions of the evidence but excluded any evidence of individual acts of Theresa’s prior sexual conduct, concluding that such evidence wasn’t relevant to the case.
Following trial, Knox was convicted of rape. Knox appealed the decision to the United States Air Force Court of Military Review.
