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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 397 Filed 10/29/21 Page 20 of 84
(emphasis added)). Dr. Rocchio’s testimony will also include discussion of techniques used by
perpetrators. Dr. Rocchio’s testimony regarding such techniques is supported by Dr. Rocchio’s
review of the relevant literature, see Exhibit A, and through her clinical work. By virtue of her
experience treating victims, Dr. Rocchio is necessarily informed about perpetrators’ actions. See
Halamek, 5 F.4th at 1088 (“Extensive experience interviewing victims can qualify a person to
testify about the relationships those victims tend to have with their abusers.”). Dr. Rocchio will
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testify squarely within her expertise and experience.
b. Relevance and Rule 403
Dr. Rocchio’s opinions will assist the trier of fact in understanding the evidence at trial.
This case concerns an “unusual area of human interaction.” See Feb. 25, 2020 Tr. at 39:8-9, United
States v. Randall, 19 Cr. 131 (PAE) (S.D.N.Y.), Dkt. No. 335. The Minor Victims in this case
were trafficked over many years, and none were physically restrained. An average juror, with no
experience with sexual abuse victims, may not understand why the Minor Victims continued to
3 In United States v. Raniere, No. 18 Cr. 204 (NGG), 2019 WL 2212639 (E.D.N.Y. May 22, 2019),
Judge Garaufis questioned whether an expert on grooming with experience focused on victims
may have been able to testify reliably about how “perpetrators often use ‘grooming’ techniques on
adult and child victims... .” Jd. at *7. Even then, he did not exclude the testimony—he simply
ordered a Daubert hearing. Jd. at *8. The Government ultimately declined to proceed with that
testimony rather than conduct a mid-trial Daubert hearing. Here, and as noted above, Dr.
Rocchio’s proposed testimony concerns the experience of manipulated and coerced victims, rather
than the intentions of perpetrators.
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Extracted Information
Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00005803.jpg |
| File Size | 674.3 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 94.1% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 1,917 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 17:03:24.089708 |