State of Tennessee v. Toby S. Earhart

A Stewart County jury convicted the defendant, Toby Shane Earhart, of two counts of child abuse. On appeal, the defendant contends there was insufficient evidence to support the jury’s verdict; the trial court erred by admitting a videotaped forensic interview of the victim; the trial court erred by excluding the defendant’s expert witness; and the trial court erred when imposing consecutive sentences. Based upon our thorough review of the record, we agree the trial court erred when admitting the forensic interview; however, this error was harmless. Additionally, we conclude the evidence was sufficient to support the jury’s verdict, the trial court did not abuse its discretion when excluding the defendant’s expert witness, and the trial court properly ordered consecutive sentences. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.