Commonwealth v. Jacques, 494 Mass. 739 (2024)

The defendant was convicted of multiple sexual offenses against two minor girls who were living in his household. On appeal, he argued that the trial judge improperly excluded evidence of one complainant’s prior allegations of sexual abuse by a third party under the Massachusetts rape shield statute (G. L. c. 233, § 21B), and that this ruling violated his constitutional rights to confrontation and to present a defense. The Supreme Judicial Court held that prior sexual abuse does constitute “sexual conduct” barred by the rape shield statute, but concluded that the trial judge erred by completely precluding cross-examination about the third-party abuse where unique similarities could have supported the defense theory of fabrication. Because the limitation infringed the defendant’s confrontation rights and was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, the Court reversed the convictions on the sexual offenses and remanded the case for a new trial, though it affirmed a separate conviction for evidence tampering.