COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA Present: Judges Malveaux, Causey and Chaney UNPUBLISHED Argued by videoconference RICARDO TINOCO-RIVERA MEMORANDUM OPINION * BY v. Record No. 0848-21-4 JUDGE MARY BENNETT MALVEAUX MARCH 22, 2022 COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF LOUDOUN COUNTY Jeanette A. Irby, Judge William J. Bang (Alex Levay, PLLC, on brief), for appellant. Rebecca M. Garcia, Assistant Attorney General (Mark R. Herring, 1 Attorney General, on brief), for appellee. Ricardo Tinoco-Rivera (“appellant”) was convicted of four sexual offenses committed against his stepdaughter, A.M. 2: taking indecent liberties with a stepchild who was at least fifteen but less than seventeen years old, in violation of Code § 18.2-370(D)(i); fornication with a stepchild who was at least fifteen but less than seventeen years old, in violation of Code § 18.2-366; rape of a child under thirteen years old, in violation of Code § 18.2-61(A)(iii) and (B)(2); and aggravated sexual battery of a person less than thirteen years old, in violation of Code § 18.2-67.3(A)(1). On appeal, appellant argues that the trial court erred in preventing him from cross-examining A.M.’s mother about her potential bias and motivation for testifying against him. For the following reasons, we affirm the trial court. * Pursuant to Code § 17.1-413, this opinion is not designated for publication. 1 Jason S. Miyares succeeded Mark R. Herring as Attorney General on January 15, 2022. 2 We use initials, rather than the victim’s name, to protect her privacy. I. BACKGROUND “In accordance with familiar principles of appellate review, the facts will be stated in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, the prevailing party at trial.” Poole v. Commonwealth, 73 Va. App. 357, 360 (2021) (quoting Gerald v. Commonwealth, 295 Va. 469, 472 (2018)). A.M. was born in September 2003. In April 2012, her mother, Luz Monroy-Cruz, married appellant, who was not A.M.’s biological father. Monroy-Cruz testified at trial that at the time of her marriage, she and appellant, together with A.M. and A.M.’s three siblings, lived in the basement of Monroy-Cruz’s parents’ home. They lived there until October 2015, when they moved to an apartment. Monroy-Cruz further testified that at both residences, appellant was often left alone with A.M. and the other children. In May 2019, child protective services contacted Monroy-Cruz and told her that A.M.’s sister had alleged that she had been sexually abused by appellant. The sister further alleged that appellant had abused A.M. When Monroy-Cruz asked A.M. about the allegations, A.M. “broke down” and told her that she had been sexually abused and it “ha[d] been happening for a very long time.” Shortly thereafter, Monroy-Cruz discovered that $1,400 was missing from her and appellant’s joint checking account and had been transferred to someone in Mexico, appellant’s nation of origin. She reported the missing money to the police, as well as the fact that one of the couple’s vehicles was missing. The police traced appellant’s phone to the Chattanooga area and, a few hours later, appellant was arrested in Louisiana. A.M. testified at trial …
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals