Thomas v. State, 309 S.W.3d 576 (Tex. App. 2010). · Go Syfert
Thomas v. State, 309 S.W.3d 576 (Tex. App. 2010). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
G Cite
cited 2× by 2 distinct cases, last quoted 2010 · …appellant is the one that got me pregnant. at p. 579 ⚠ not in text
28 citation events (28 in the last 25 years) across 1 distinct court.
Strongest positive: Shannon Mondrell Moore v. the State of Texas (texapp, 2025-01-30)
Treatment trajectory · 2010 → 2026 · click a year to view as-of
2010 2018 2026
Top citers, strongest first. 19 distinct citers. How cited ↗
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Shannon Mondrell Moore v. the State of Texas
Tex. App. · 2025 · confidence medium
Id.; see also Brown v. State, 381 S.W.3d 565, 572 (Tex. App.—Eastland 2012, no pet.) (affirming trial court’s designation of forensic interviewer as outcry witness despite victim’s prior disclosures of abuse to 911 dispatcher and responding police officer because the information provided to dispatcher and police officer did “not touch upon the detail required when a defendant is charged with continuous sexual abuse of a young child”); Thomas v. State, 309 S.W.3d 576, 579 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, pet. ref’d) (affirming trial court’s determination that stepmother was…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Carlos Chavez v. the State of Texas
Tex. App. · 2023 · confidence medium
Id.; Thomas v. State, 309 S.W.3d 576, 579 (Tex. App.— Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, pet. ref’d) (affirming trial court’s determination that 20 stepmother was proper outcry witness despite victim’s prior report of abuse to mother because initial report to mother lacked specificity).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Brandon Joshua Vigil v. the State of Texas (2×) also: Cited "see"
Tex. App. · 2023 · confidence medium
See Castillo v. State, 71 S.W.3d 812 , 818–19 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 2002, pet. ref’d) (recognizing that abuse of discretion standard of review applied to a complaint that the offering party failed to lay a proper predicate for an autopsy report to qualify for the business-record exception to the hearsay -4- 04-22-00161-CR rule); Thomas v. State, 309 S.W.3d 576, 578 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, pet. ref’d) (“We review a trial court’s designation of an outcry witness under an abuse-of-discretion standard.” (citing Garcia v. State, 792 S.W.2d 88, 92 (Tex. Crim.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Jose Venancio v. the State of Texas
Tex. App. · 2022 · confidence medium
Id.; see also Brown v. State, 381 S.W.3d 565, 572 (Tex. App.—Eastland 2012, no pet.) (affirming trial court’s designation of forensic interviewer as outcry witness despite victim’s prior disclosures of abuse to 911 dispatcher and responding police officer because the information provided to dispatcher and police officer did “not 5 touch upon the detail required when a defendant is charged with continuous sexual abuse of a young child”); Thomas v. State, 309 S.W.3d 576, 579 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, pet. ref’d) (affirming trial court’s determination that stepmother w…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Travis Wade Frazier v. the State of Texas
Tex. App. · 2022 · confidence medium
Id.; Thomas v. State, 309 S.W.3d 576, 579 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, pet. ref’d) (affirming trial court’s determination that stepmother was proper outcry witness 17 despite victim’s prior report of abuse to mother because initial report to mother lacked specificity).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Jose Rodriguez-Navarette v. the State of Texas
Tex. App. · 2022 · confidence medium
Rather, these statements amount to mere “general allusion[s] that something in the area of child abuse was going on.” Lopez, 343 S.W.3d at 140 (quoting Garcia, 792 S.W.2d at 91 ); see Michell v. State, 381 S.W.3d 554, 559 (Tex. App.—Eastland 2012, no pet.) (holding child’s statements to 911 dispatcher and police officer that her mom “made her put her hands up in her,” her dad “put his middle part up in her” and “put his male parts inside of her,” and her parents “touched her in her private areas” were no more than general allusions to sexual abuse); Thomas v. State, 309…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Peter Edward Dolan v. State
Tex. App. · 2018 · confidence medium
See Garcia, 792 S.W.2d at 91 (initial statement that “something had happened at home, 21 and that it had to do with child abuse[]” was “general allusion,” insufficient to designate first adult as outcry witness); Thomas v. State, 309 S.W.3d 576, 579 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, pet. ref’d) (trial court reasonably concluded that child victim’s statements to her mother that only included statement that appellant used his hands to touch her was insufficient to designate mother as outcry witness because it did not include any specific details of the offense and was a “gene…
cited Cited as authority (rule) State v. Ayoob Akteyarlee
Tex. App. · 2016 · confidence medium
See Mims, 2015 WL 7166026 , at *2; Thomas v. State, 309 S.W.3d 576, 579 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, pet. ref’d).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Billy Keith Mims v. State
Tex. App. · 2015 · confidence medium
App. 2008); Polk, 367 S.W.3d at 452 . 13 See Garcia, 792 S.W.2d at 90-91 ; see also Michell v. State, 381 S.W.3d 554, 558 (Tex. App.—Eastland 2012, no pet.). 14 Garcia, 792 S.W.2d at 91 ; see Michell, 381 S.W.3d at 558 . 15 See Garcia, 792 S.W.2d at 91 (initial statement that “something happened at home, and that it had to do with abuse” was “general allusion,” insufficient to designate first adult as outcry witness); Thomas v. State, 309 S.W.3d 576, 579 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, pet. ref’d); Sims v. State, 12 S.W.3d 499, 500 (Tex. App.—Dallas 1999, pet. ref’d) (s…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Mark Vernon Moore v. State
Tex. App. · 2015 · confidence medium
Article 38.072 requires a description of the “offense,” but the information K.M. related to Cadelia and her biological father, the district court could have reasonably found, did not touch upon the timing element of the charged offense or the number of times the acts of abuse occurred.73 The district court also could have reasonably found that Rodriguez was the first adult witness to whom K.M. had provided a description of multiple acts of sexual abuse over an extended period of 71 See Garcia, 792 S.W.2d at 91 (initial statement that “something happened at home, and that it had to do wit…
cited Cited as authority (rule) Russell Hal Duncan v. State
Tex. App. · 2012 · confidence medium
Thomas v. State, 309 S.W.3d 576, 578 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, no pet.) (citing Garcia, 792 S.W.2d at 92 ).
discussed Cited "see" Bradley Scott Gibbs v. the State of Texas
Tex. App. · 2025 · signal: see · confidence high
See Thomas v. State, 309 S.W.3d 576, 578-79 (Tex. App.—Houston 2010, pet. ref’d) (holding that the complainant’s mother was not the proper outcry witness because the complainant’s statement did not disclose the same instance of abuse that the complainant later disclosed to her stepmother, who was deemed the appropriate outcry witness).
discussed Cited "see" Freddie Duwayne Hutchinson v. State
Tex. App. · 2020 · signal: see · confidence high
Salinas v. State, No. 08-19-00017-CR, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 1130 , at *14 (Tex. App.—El Paso Feb. 10, 2020, no pet.) (not designated for publication); see Thomas v. State, 309 S.W.3d 576, 579 (Tex. App.— Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, pet. ref’d) (holding that the trial court could have determined the statement to the Mother was not outcry because it failed to describe the occurrence with any specificity).
discussed Cited "see" Miguel Esteban Salinas v. State
Tex. App. · 2020 · signal: see · confidence high
See Thomas v. State, 309 S.W.3d 576, 579 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, pet. ref’d); Sims v. State, 12 S.W.3d 499, 500 (Tex. App.—Dallas 1999, pet. ref’d); see also, Hayden v. State, 928 S.W.2d 229, 231 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1996, pet. ref’d) (“[W]here the record is void of specific details of statements made by the complainant to an individual, such individual cannot be an outcry witness under article 38.072.”) (citing Garcia, 792 S.W.2d at 91 ).
discussed Cited "see" Patrick Leon Washington v. State (2×)
Tex. App. · 2019 · signal: see · confidence high
See Thomas v. State, 309 S.W.3d 576, 578 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, pet. ref’d).
cited Cited "see" Roy Guadalupe Cardinas v. State
Tex. App. · 2017 · signal: see · confidence high
See Thomas v. State, 309 S.W.3d 576, 579 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, pet. ref’d).
cited Cited "see" in Re Albert Vincent Thomas
Tex. App. · 2016 · signal: see · confidence high
See Thomas v. State, 2 309 S.W.3d 576 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, pet. ref’d).
discussed Cited "see, e.g." Shaw v. State
Tex. App. · 2010 · signal: compare · confidence medium
Compare Thomas v. State, 309 S.W.3d 576, 579 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, no pet.) (holding that the child did not describe the offense of aggravated sexual assault when the child said appellant touched her private areas), Carty v. State, 178 S.W.3d 297, 300-01, 306 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2005, pet. ref'd) (holding that the child did not describe the offense of penetrating the child’s sexual organ when the child said appellant was molesting her), and Castelan v. State, 54 S.W.3d 469, 475 (Tex.App.Corpus Christi 2001, no pet.) (holding that the child did not describe the offens…
discussed Cited "see, e.g." Eddie Shaw v. State
Tex. App. · 2010 · signal: compare · confidence medium
Compare Thomas v. State , 309 S.W.3d 576, 579 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, no pet.) (holding that the child did not describe the offense of aggravated sexual assault when the child said appellant touched her private areas), Carty v. State , 178 S.W.3d 297 , 300–01, 306 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2005, pet. ref’d) (holding that the child did not describe the offense of penetrating the child’s sexual organ when the child said appellant was molesting her), and Castelan v. State , 54 S.W.3d 469, 475 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi 2001, no pet.) (holding that the child did not d…
Retrieving the full opinion text from the archive…
Albert Vincent THOMAS, Appellant,
v.
the STATE of Texas, Appellee
14-08-01157-CR.
Court of Appeals of Texas.
Feb 18, 2010.
309 S.W.3d 576
2010 Tex. App. LEXIS 1154
2010 WL 547049
Casey Garrett, Houston, for appellant., Bridget Holloway, Houston, for appellee.
Kem Thompson Frost.
Cited by 19 opinions  |  Published

OPINION

KEM THOMPSON FROST, Justice.

Appellant Albert Vincent Thomas challenges his conviction for aggravated sexual assault of a child, asserting that a State’s witness was an improper outcry witness. We affirm.

Factual and Pkocedural Background

The State charged appellant by indictment with the offense of aggravated sexual assault of a child, appellant’s young stepdaughter, by causing the sexual organ of the child to contact appellant’s sexual organ. Appellant pleaded “not guilty” to the charged offense. Before trial, appellant filed a pre-trial motion for a determination of the State’s outcry witnesses. At the hearing on the matter, the complainant, eleven-year-old Mary [1] testified that when she was eight years old, she first told her mother that appellant touched her in her “private areas.” According to Mary, she did not tell her mother everything about appellant’s conduct, but rather told her mother “just a little bit.” Mary explained that she did not tell her mother in what manner appellant touched her. Mary indicated that her mother confronted appellant, who denied the accusation. Mary testified that her mother passed away when Mary was ten years old.

Mary testified that when she was eleven years old, she told her stepmother, Marke-sha Federick, about appellant’s conduct. She testified that she gave the “whole story” to Federick. Mary explained that she told Federick that she was sleeping[*578] and appellant entered her room, removed her disposable diaper — a “pull-up,” and put his “private parts” into her “private parts.” Mary testified that she told Fed-erick that appellant moved “in and out” and that “white stuff started coming out of his private parts” and that it hurt her.

On cross-examination, Mary indicated that she told her mother that the incident occurred in her bedroom. She recalled telling her mother that appellant pulled her pull-up diaper down and touched her “private areas” with his hands. She denied telling her mother about appellant’s movement “in and out,” the “white stuff,” or that appellant touched her with his “private parts.”

At the end of the hearing, appellant objected to the designation of Federick as an outcry witness, asserting that Mary first made outcry to her mother, now deceased. The trial court ruled that Feder-ick was the proper outcry witness. After the trial that followed, the jury found appellant guilty as charged, and the trial court sentenced appellant to thirty years’ confinement.

Issue and Analysis

In a single issue appellant claims reversible error in the trial court’s designation of Federick as an outcry witness. According to appellant, Mary’s mother, who had since died, was the proper outcry witness because the mother was the first to hear Mary report appellant’s sexual conduct. We review a trial court’s designation of an outcry -witness under an abuse-of-discretion standard. See Garcia v. State, 792 S.W.2d 88, 92 (Tex.Crim.App.1990). A trial court’s designation of an outcry witness will be upheld when supported by the evidence. Id.

Under article 38.072 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, some hearsay statements are admissible in prosecuting certain offenses, including aggravated sexual assault of a child, as in this case. Tex.Code Crim. PROC. Ann. art. 38.072, § 1 (Vernon 2005). This statute applies to “statements that describe the alleged offense” and that (1) were made by the child against whom the offense allegedly was committed and (2) were made to the first person, eighteen years of age or older, other than the defendant, to whom the child made a statement about the offense. Id. § 2(a). The Court of Criminal Appeals has construed the statute to apply to the first adult to whom the complainant makes a statement that in “some discernible manner describes the alleged offense.” See Garcia, 792 S.W.2d at 91. For the statute to apply, the statement must be more than words that give a “general allusion” that something in the area of child abuse has occurred. Id.

Although appellant contends that Feder-ick was not a proper outcry witness because Mary’s mother was the first adult to whom Mary outcried about appellant’s sexual misconduct, the record reflects that in her statements to her mother Mary did not “describe the alleged offense.” See Tex.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 38.072, § 2(a)(1) (applying hearsay exception to “statements that describe the alleged offense”). Article 38.072 applies only to statements that describe the alleged offense. Id.; see Gallegos v. State, 918 S.W.2d 50, 56 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 1996, pet. ref'd) (providing that outcry testimony of appellant kissing child did not exceed the scope of the statute requiring statements to describe the alleged offense because in the indictment charging appellant the State alleged both sexual assault and indecency with a child by contact). Mary’s statements to her mother involved appellant’s sexual conduct with Mary in using his hands; however, appellant was charged with causing Mary’s sexual organ[*579] to contact his sexual organ. See Tex.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 38.072, § 2(a)(1). Thus, it is not clear that the event to which Mary alluded when speaking with her mother was the same event that was the subject of Mary’s outcry to Federick.

Furthermore, according to Mary’s testimony at the outcry hearing, in statements to her mother Mary did not describe the occurrence with any specificity. See Reyes v. State, 274 S.W.3d 724, 728 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 2008, pet. ref'd). She denied telling her mother about appellant’s “private parts,” “white stuff,” appellant’s movement “in and out,” or how it hurt her; Mary testified that she only told her mother about appellant using his hands to touch her. The record does not reflect that Mary told her mother of any specific details of the offense for which appellant was charged. See Bargas v. State, 252 S.W.3d 876, 894 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2008, no pet.); Sims v. State, 12 S.W.3d 499, 500 (Tex.App.-Dallas 1999, pet. ref'd) (involving child who told mother of sexual misconduct, although record does not reflect whether the child shared any specific details of the alleged offense with mother). The trial court reasonably could have determined that Mary’s statement to her mother was nothing more than a general allusion that something in the area of sexual abuse had occurred and not a clear description of the alleged offense. See Tex.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 38.072, § 2(a); Bargas, 252 S.W.3d at 894. Such statements, as general allusions, in which the complainant does not describe the alleged offense in some discernible manner, are not within the purview of article 38.072. See Tex.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 38.072, § 2(a); Garcia, 792 S.W.2d at 91.

As reflected by the record, Mary’s statements to Federick include a detailed description of the alleged offense with Mary describing how appellant put his “private parts” into her “private parts,” how appellant moved “in and out,” and that “white stuff started coming out of his private parts.” According to the record, Federick was the first person over eighteen years of age to whom Mary, in some discernible manner, described the offense charged in the indictment. See Tex.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 38.072, § 2(a); Garcia, 792 S.W.2d at 91. Mary’s account to Federick of appellant’s sexual conduct was more than a general allusion that sexual abuse had occurred; her statements contained sufficient information about the nature of the acts and the perpetrator to meet the requirements of article 38.072. See Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 38.072, § 2(a); Garcia, 792 S.W.2d at 91. We conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion in designating Federick as the proper outcry witness. See Tex.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 38.072, § 2(a); Garcia, 792 S.W.2d at 91. Therefore, we overrule appellant’s sole issue and affirm the trial court’s judgment.

1

. To protect the privacy of the child complainant, we refer to the child by a pseudonym.