State high court weighs possible error in sex abuse trial

The state Supreme Court considers whether a judge abused his discretion by not allowing an expert witness to testify.

By JOY POWELL, Star Tribune

Last update: November 11, 2009 - 12:26 AM

The Minnesota Supreme Court heard arguments Monday over whether a Dakota County judge abused his discretion by not allowing an expert witness to testify in a child molestation case.

The case tried in 2007 before Judge Thomas Poch, involved Paul R. Hakala, 70, of Rosemount, who was convicted of sexually abusing three girls. In March, the state Court of Appeals threw out the conviction after finding that Hakala's attorney should have been allowed to present testimony from an expert.

That witness, Susan Phipps-Yonas, was to testify about concerns she had with the interviewing techniques used by a social worker who had questioned the girls.

Dakota County prosecutors appealed the court ruling and are asking the Supreme Court to reverse the decision and let stand Hakala's 165-month sentence.

Hakala's attorney, John Lillie, of St. Paul, said the girls' statements and testimony contained many inconsistencies, including what happened and how often.

Lillie told the high court that during social worker Ann Hackel's questioning, which was videotaped, she sometimes followed up on the girls' answers and sometimes did not, and that some of her questions were leading.

Lawrence Clark, assistant Dakota County attorney, wanted to limit or exclude Phipps-Yonas' testimony, a request that was granted by the judge during the trial.

Clark told the justices that to allow testimony from Phipps-Yonas would have been prejudicial to the state's case and would have shifted the jury's focus to the experts and away from the girls' testimony, leading to "a battle of the experts."

The victims were ages 13, 15 and 17 when they testified in 2007.

The girls didn't report the alleged abuse for more than a year after they said it had stopped. Hakala, a retired metro bus driver, continues to maintain his innocence, saying the girls made up the allegations.

The Supreme Court will rule at a later date.

Hakala has advanced lung cancer, congestive heart failure and diabetes that have left him unable to walk. In May, the judge ordered Hakala released from prison and placed under house arrest pending the appeal.

Joy Powell • 952-882-9017

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