Appeals court hears arguments in Mineola child sex ring case - KYTX CBS 19 Tyler Longview News Weather Sports

According to an audio recording of the oral arguments, Ms. DeRieux said the tapes would have allowed the jury to see and understand the techniques used in the interview of two of the children at the Children's Advocacy Center of Smith County because of the presence of their foster mother, Margie Cantrell, and Texas Ranger Phillip Kemp.

"The jury would have seen that these were planted memories," Ms. DeRieux said.

She told the justices that such interviews with children usually are not conducted in this manner, with a parent and an authority figure present.

Six of the defendants involved in the 2005 incidents, Sheila Darlene Sones, Jamie Pittman, Patrick Kelly, Shauntel Mayo, Rebecca Pittman and Jimmy Sones pleaded guilty to charges of injury to a child, a third-degree felony, in the 241st District Court in May 2011. The punishment range for that crime is two to 10 years, and they were credited for time served and released shortly after the plea hearing.

One of the children recanted her testimony during the Dennis Pittman trial, Ms. DeRieux said. "The jury needed to see the whole series of interviews on the tapes — we wanted the ability to play them — the (video) tapes should have been admissible," she said to the justices.

According to the recording of the arguments, a judge asked Ms. DeRieux if what the tapes could have been hearsay.

"There is nothing inadmissible on the tapes. Mr. Pittman's counsel asked the court to review the tapes, and the 241st District Court said that some of the tapes had been screened in prior cases," Ms. DeRieux said.

At the Dennis Pittman trial, an expert witness, called by the defense, discussed improper interviewing techniques, West said.

The defense contended during the Pittman trial that the kids had been coached, West said. "Jason Cassel played the tapes 33 times to cross examine the children and to show inconsistencies — he could have played them as many times as he wanted," West said of the defense attorney during the trial.

West said there was a chance the jury would mistake the tapes for evidence. One of the justices asked how the state was hurt by the admission of the tapes.

"Because Margie Cantrell was on the tapes and had been present in the interviews with Ranger Kemp, the videos could confuse the jury — they could think that the videos are for the truth of the matter asserted," West said.

West said that Cassel could have talked about the improper techniques.

"It boggles my mind to say ‘let's play 15 hours worth of tapes to the jury,'" West said. Cassel would have been allowed to offer videos at the same time as the children were testifying, West said.

But DeRieux argued, "Had the jury seen how these children were subjected to these interviewing techniques, the expressions on their faces, the outcome of the case would have been different. The parts of the tapes that the court did admit for the jury to see were truncated."

The video tapes, to which the attorneys were referring, were from interviews of the children named in the indictment and were from earlier trials in the cases, which included a great deal of information, including where the children had gone to school and past sexual abuse, West said.

West said on Tuesday he did not know when the justices would rule on the Pittman case, saying they have up to two years to do so.