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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 453 Filed 11/12/21 Page 26 of 52
situation here, in which the alleged “groomer” was not the person who perpetrated
the alleged abuse.
e Even where the “groomer” and “perpetrator” are the same person, courts have
recognized the unreliability of grooming testimony. United States v. Gonyer, No.
1:12-CR-00021-JAW, 2012 WL 3043020, at *2-3 (D. Me. July 24, 2012); United
States v. Raymond, 700 F. Supp. 2d 142, 146-47 (D. Me. 2010); United States v.
Schneider, No. CRIM.A. 10-29, 2010 WL 3734055, at *4 (E.D. Pa. Sept. 22,
2010); see also United States v. Raniere, No. 18-CR-2041-NGG-VMS, 2019 WL
2212639, at *7 (E.D.N.Y. May 22, 2019); United States v. Burns, No. 07 CR 556,
2009 WL 3617448, at *5 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 27, 2009) (criticizing the “grooming
theory” in the context of a sentencing guidelines calculation).
e The government tries to distinguish United States v. Raymond by saying that the
expert’s own book in that case “disavow[ed] [its] reliability . . . for legal use.”
Resp. at 14. But that is exactly the situation here, because the primary article on
which the government relies—Exhibit A to its response—flatly says “that
grooming is not a construct that ought to be used in forensic settings as it does not
meet some of the criteria in the Daubert standard.” Resp., Ex. A, p 19.
e The government says Rocchio’s opinions are not “anecdotal.” But that’s not right
either, as her endorsement makes clear: Rocchio’s opinions are based “‘on her
education and training on psychological trauma, traumatic stress, interpersonal
violence, and sexual abuse /and her] extensive clinical experience treating
individuals who suffered sexual abuse and trauma in childhood and adolescence,
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Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00006906.jpg |
| File Size | 626.6 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 93.7% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 1,747 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 17:16:34.343420 |