MJ:

DC: MJ:

Defense?
No questions, sir. Warning or recall?

TC:

Yes, sir.

The witness was warned, excused subject to recall, and withdrew from the courtroom. MJ: TC: Additional evidence from the government? Sir, the government calls Stacy Skovranko.

Ms. Stacy . Skovranko, a civilian, was called as a witness by the prosecution, was sworn, and testified as follows: DIRECT EXAMINATION Questions by the prosecution: Q. A. Q. A. Q. Ma'am, could you please state your name and spell your last name for the record. Stacy Skovranko, that's S-K-O-V-R-A-N-K-O. What's your current city and state of residence? Beaufort, South Carolina. Do you want the address? That's okay. Ma'am, could you give us a little background on where you grew up, where you're from? I grew up in Michigan, , born there. Do you know Petty Officer Skovranko? Yes, I do. That's my husband. When did you first meet him? March of 1996. And when did you get married? We were married March 14th of 1998. Do you have any children? I have two children.

A4 Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A.

313

Q. A. Q. A. Q.
A.

What are their names? Hi and T: How old are they? H< . i s eight and T is four.

At one point traveling with your husband in his military

career, did you live on Camp Pendleton?

Yes, we did.

Q. A. Q.
A.

When was that? We were there 2000 November and --on Boxwood was the initial first residence. Is that in Base Housing?
Yes, it is.
Did you maintain any pets when you were on that road? Yes, we did. We had two dogs, a little Shiatzu named Pasty and a mixed breed named Shelby.

Q. A.

Q.
A. Q. A. Q. MJ:
TC:

How long approximately did you live on Boxwood Road?

We moved there June of '02. Where did you move from there? To Alderwood. Who were your neighbors Captain Ellis, excuse me one second.

Yes, sir.

MJ:
WIT:

Ma'am, could you spell Alderwood for me?

It's A-L-D-E-R-W-0-O-D.

MJ: WIT: MJ:

TC:

Thank you, ma'am. No problem. Captain Ellis, please continue.

Yes, sir.

314

Questions by the prosecution continued: Q. A. Ma'am, who were your neighbors when you moved to Alderwood Road? On one side was a female named Kim, I'm not sure of the last name, and the other side was the Ehlers which would have been Gloria Ehlers, Edwin Ehlers and their two -Gloria's two children, which was Randi and Samuel Hester. What was your relationship like with the accused and Gloria Ehlers? I more or less hung out with Gloria. Her and I became close friends. Edwin I would see on rare occasions when we lived there. It was more of a hi, hello more than anything. We never really hung out per se. What type of things would you and Gloria do. We'd sit around, you know, talk about woman things. than anything. Q. A. Q. A. Where would you do this at? Either in front of Gloria's house on a porch swing type deal they had or either on my front porch. Did your -- did H have any type of relationship with Gloria's children? . She looked up to Randi. Randi is the -- her daughter. Always looked up to Randi, would play, you know, wanted to be around Randi. Randi would, you know, paint her toe nails and her fingernails for her, that kind of stuff, so -- and then Sammy would play on occasion but not a whole lot. When you would be sitting and talking with Gloria, what would the kids be doing normally? Usually running back and forth between her yard and mine or riding on I" 's little Terminator car she had, a little four wheeler type deal. Would the accused be home at certain times? Certain times of the day, yes, others, I assumed he was at work early morning until mid-afternoon. Where would he be when he was home and you were out with Gloria? Usually in the house. We

Q. A.

Q. A.

would drink coffee, just shoot the breeze more or less

Q. A.

Q. A. Q. A.

315

Q. A. Q. A.

Has the accused ever watched H On one occasion.

for you?

Could you describe the details of that, please. It was October of '02. I was pregnant with ray son T' and my husband was out on a two-week pwt for a

pre-deployment.
MJ: Hold on, ma'am.

WIT: MJ:

What month was that? F - '^JY^ r "^ M\)w x~> r

October of '02, sir. ' Thank you. Please continue. ^ OFn n 1 V?J
(,

\ -A ^J Uo\r ,

Vc

WIT:

I wasn't feeling well. I was having a lot of sickness with my son for the pregnancy. So I had gone over to ask - - t o see if Gloria would watch H for a little while because I wasn't feeling well, needed to lay down and H wasn't wanting to take a nap. I went over to Gloria's and Gloria wasn't home and Edwin was. And he said - - h e told me that he could watch H for a little while. I was like, no, that's okay, I'll just, you know, maybe later when Gloria gets home and I'll see if I can't get her to lay down with me. He said, well, Donna is here, she's napping, too, she's not feeling well. So I thought, well, okay, you know. And he said he could put on some, you know, the video game player for H and she could play video games and whatnot. And where did you end up going? I went home and napped for about an hour and a half to

Q. A.

two hours, and he brought H

hours after. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A.

back home about two

How did she look when he came back home? She looked a little down. You said you lived at Alderwood until approximately December of 2002? Correct. Where did you move after that? We moved to Birch Road.

316

QA.

Did you maintain a relationship with the accused and Gloria Ehlers at that point? I more talked to Gloria via the telephone at that point. I didn't really converse with them much at that point. Occasionally we would go over and we visit. There was a few times when she would stop by with the kids to play and for H' to see Randi. Did Gloria ever baby sit for you? Yes, she did on two occasions.
*

Q. A. Q. A.

^
IItv*

What were the occasions? I had dental appointments on two occasions where she lived - - w e were at I believe Pinyon Road, and had her watch the kids then. I dropped them off. I'm not sure of the exact timing, it was mid-afternoon, and my appointments were about two to three hours each time. You said you dropped the kids off? H; and 1 , sorry, and dropped Hi and 1 off and within two or three hours I was back. How old was T: at that time?

Q. A, Q.

A.

was just a few months old. He was born the 20th

of December and this was probably two, three months after he was born. Q. A. Was the accused home when Gloria would baby sit for you. When I would drop the children off, K . and T off, he would not be home. When I would come to pick them up he would be back. Now, when you're on Camp Pendleton had you ever noticed H engage in any unusual behavior? Unusual as in? Did she ever touch herself in any inappropriate places? \ Yes, she did. There was a few times that I noticed her digging in her vaginal area and I didn't notice this until after Paul had deployed to Iraq. What were his deployment dates? He left January '03 and he returned - - i t was late July, early August of "03.
-i.

Q. A. Q. A.

Q. A.

Q.
A.

You said a few times. Do you remember specifically how

many or is this an estimate? I would say probably about three times.

317

t
Q. A. Could you describe the behavior that you witnessed? When I walked in I noticed she was -- had her hand in her pants on one occasion, another occasion would be above her clothing, and it wasn't, you know, gentle or anything, it was -- she was pretty rough with it. She had it to the point to where it red and very irritated, So you inspected her after you -The one time she had her pants -- her hand down her pants I had looked. Hold on, Captain Ellis. Please continue. Questions by the prosecution continued: Q. A. Q. A. Q. A, Q. A. Q. A. Do you remember when you left Camp Pendleton? We left Camp Pendleton October of '03. Where did you go? To Beaufort, South Carolina. Where did you live in Beaufort? Where did we live in Beaufort? We lived at . Had you lived there the entire time? We lived there the entire time. The behavior we were just talking about, did you witness that at any point -She did -- after we left Camp Pendleton, I hadn't noticed her doing it for awhile, and then shortly after we had Gloria Ehlers' children come and visit us for about a week and around that time we started noticing her doing it and she continues to do it to this day. When was the first time that you learned of these allegations where H Hold on, Captain Ellis. Q. A. MJ:

Q. MJ:
TC:

Yes, sir.

318

MJ:

Ma'am, if I understand your testimony correctly, you did not notice H . digging at her vagina when she got to Beaufort, South Carolina, again until the Ehlers1 children came to visit. Is that correct? The Hester children, sir, yes. The Hester children?

WIT:
MJ:

WIT:
MJ:

Yes, sir.
And when they came to visit is when you started noticing her doing it again?

WIT:
MJ:

Yes, sir.
Thank you. Captain Ellis, please continue.

TC:

Thank you, sir.

Questions by the prosecution continued:

Q. A. Q. A. Q.
A.

When was the first time you learned about the allegations involved in this case? A few days after Randi and Sammy come to visit. When was that? They - - w e picked them up from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We met Gloria there on the 28th of May. And when you learned about these allegations, what did you do? At first I .-Excuse me. I'm sorry.

MJ:

WIT:
MJ:

Yes, sir.
28th of May of what year?

WIT:
MJ:

03, sir.
Thank you, ma'am. Captain Ellis, please continue. *
319
~^\ :

^^ ^k

Questions by the prosecution continued: QA. Q. A. When again did you say that you left Camp Pendleton? We left Camp Pendleton on October of '03 -- I'm sorry, it would have been May of '04. I'm sorry. Okay. And when you first learned about what H< " had told you, what did you do? Well, I called my husband at work and told him that he needed to come home so that -- there was a situation that we needed to talk about. Did you end up contacting law enforcement at some point? We called NCIS the next day and went in and gave an interview to the agent there. May I have one moment, sir?
You may.

Q. A. TC:
MJ:

The trial counsel conferred. Questions by the prosecution continued: Q. MJ: TSC: MJ: Ma'am, are you aware -Hold on, Captain Ellis. Sorry, sir. You may continue.

Questions by the prosecution continued: Q. A. Ma'am, are you aware of an incident back on Camp Pendleton where a boy named James tried to put his hands down H .'s pants? Yes, there was a little boy, James , that Gloria Ehlers would watch on occasion and him and H would play together using the little Terminator car that she had driving it around the houses. How old was James? I believe James was six years old at that time. Where did he live? I'm not sure of his resident address.

Q. A. Q. A.

320

Q. A. TC: MJ:

In proximity to where you lived? I know he lived aboard Camp Pendleton, but I'm not sure which housing area. I have no further questions at this time, sir. Thank you, Captain Ellis. Cross-examination, Lieutenant Melowcowsky?

DC:

Yes, sir.

Thank you. CROSS-EXAMINATION

Questions by the defense: Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q.

A.

Good afternoon. Good afternoon. You and Gloria are-friends, aren't you? Yes, sir. And how long have you been friends? We've been friends approximately since October --or since June of "02 when we moved into Alderwood. Would she talk to you about her relationship with Sergeant Ehlers? Not in full detail, no. Were you aware that when they were getting divorced that they were getting divorced^s I didn't know they were separated until April of '04. Do you continue to keep in touch now that she's in Georgia? Yes, we do. I want to just follow up a little bit about that incident with that little boy James. Okay. Gloria was baby sitting him at the time? Yes, sir.

'Q. A. Q. A.

321

And you walked up on H fact, screaming, correct? Yes, sir.

when she was - - she was , in

And you had to bring the boy James back to Gloria? Yes, I did. And later that night Scott, her father -Scott, which would have been James 's father, brought James back over and made him apologize to
H.

And this was roughly two weeks after this alleged incident when you dropped H, off at Sergeant Ehlers1 house, correct? That was during the summer time when he had done that. When H was over at when Sergeant Ehlers had watched H by himself was in October when Paul was on pre-ops, and this was several months later when James

had done
Q.

Okay. I ' m going to show you what ' s been previously marked as Defense Exhibit D, for identification. Hold on, Lieutenant Melowcowsky. Did you say D like Delta?

->

A. MJ:

DC:

Yes, sir.
Let me see what you have there.

MJ:
DC:

Yes, sir.

The defense counsel delivered the exhibit to the military judge. MJ:
DC:

Do you have a copy of Defense Exhibit D for identification for the court?

Yes, sir.
If I could have that, please.

MJ:
DC:

Yes, sir.

The defense counsel delivered a copy of the exhibit to the military judge.

322

MJ: DC:

Thank you, Lieutenant. For the record, I'm handing the witness Defense Exhibit D for identification.

Questions by the defense continued: Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A, Q. A. Q, A. Q.

A.

Do you recognize that? Yes, I do. How do you recognize it? I see my signature in the statement, What is it? Disclosure that I gave to Agent Gauthier. In fact, I want - - i f you wouldn't mind, can you flip through that entire document which consists of six pages. [The witness complied.] Is that your signature at the bottom of every page? Yes, sir. Are those your initials at the end of every paragraph? Yes. In fact, is this the statement that you gave to the Agent Gauthier on June 3rd of 2004? Yes, it is. Can I ask you to turn to Page 2 of the document. [The witness complied.] I'm going to bring your attention the second paragraph down. Okay. Can I ask you to read the first two lines of that paragraph? It says about two weeks after Edwin watched a I had H , and a child named James playing in my bedroom. Later in that paragraph, can you please read the sentence that says "once outside"? "Once outside I asked H - - o r asked her what had happened and she told me James tried to put his hand down her pants."

Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A.

323

Q. A. DC:

That was two weeks after the incident? Yes. I'm now retrieving Defense Exhibit D for identification from the witnesses.

Questions by the defense continued: Q. A. Q. A. Q. Was there another incident where this same boy James exposed himself to your daughter? Exposed himself? Showed his penis to your daughter? Not to my knowledge ever, no. I want to bring your attention now back to October of '02 when you dropped H off at the house. You said that Nana or Donna Kurr -- they're the same person, correct? Yes, they are. You said that she was home when you dropped her off? Yes. Hold on, Lieutenant Melowcowsky.

A. Q. A. MJ:

I'm confused. My understanding is this witness has testified that Gloria was home. I'm not sure I know what you are referring to. DC: MJ: DC: MJ: DC: When she dropped H With whom? With Sergeant Ehlers. Okay. And you just -- this witness hasn't testified about a Ms. Kurr that I recall. I'm sorry, it's my recollection that she said that Nana was home. off to be baby sat October of '02.

MJ:

My understanding was that she said Gloria was home.

Well, what I would like for you to do, Lieutenant Melowcowsky, is straighten that out for me, if you would, before you go wherever you're going.

324

DC:

Yes, six.

Questions by the defense continued:

Q. A.

Was there anybody home when you dropped H*.

. off?

My understanding from what everyone had told me, Donna, which is Gloria's mother, was home taking a nap. Okay. And this was also -- Donna is also who they describe -Also known as Nana. Thank you. You're welcome. After these allegations came out, did you ever tell NCIS that Nana was home during this time? I don't recall. Did you think it significant to ask Nana if she heard or saw anything? Objection. Basis? Calls for speculation. Lieutenant Melowcowsky, where are you going with this? The allegation, sir, is that she believes that Sergeant Ehlers committed some sort of act during this timeframe if he was alone with the child. If she really believes it and that this is the allegation, then how come she's not following up and asking the people who were there. Well, how does that go to prove or disapprove a fact in issue now, Lieutenant Melowcowsky? I'm the one that has to make the decision whether or not something happened. Are you asking her whether or not she asked -- this witness whether or not she asked Donna about the allegations for the purposes of testing this witness' credibility?

Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q.
TC; MJ; TC: MJ: DC:

MJ:

DC:

Yes, sir.

325

MJ:

How does that test her credibility? enforcement agent.

She's not a law

DC:

The credibility goes to -- it goes to a lot of things, Your Honor. One, it goes to the credibility of her statement, whether or not she truly believes that her daughter may or may not have been assaulted. It goes to bias, why she's testifying or why these allegations are being brought forward. If it was serious enough to bring to NCIS, how come she's not following up with the people who she still keeps in contact with?

MJ:

I'm going to sustain the objection, Lieutenant Melowcowsky. I fail to see the nexiis between your argument and the question that you're asking specifically. I don't see where this witness has a duty to somehow investigate these allegations. Moreover, any questions she may have asked or not asked other persons at this point, unless you can show how that's relevant to me, I don't see how it's going to impact her credibility at this point. Furthermore, I don't see where she has a responsibility to investigate these allegations such that if she doesn't ask those people. I don't see how it impacts it either way. Yes, sir, I'll move on. Thank you.

DC:

MJ:

Questions by the defense continued

QA. Q. A.

Can I just ask you, what kind of home was the home in Alderwood? Was it a one story or was it a two story? I'm sorry, could you -The house on Alderwood. On Alderwood was a one story. And the Ehlers' home was a one story? Yes, sir. Did you ever leave H, a two story home? Never alone, no. Thank you. Your Honor, at this time we offer what's been previously alone with Sergeant Ehlers in

Q.
A.

Q.
A.

DC:

326

marked as Defense Exhibit D for identification. We ask that it be admitted into evidence and the words "for identification" be deleted.

MJ:

Hold on there, Lieutenant Melowcowsky.

I didn't understand the witness1 last response. Ma'am, you never left He at home with Sergeant Ehlers while he was living in a one story house. Is that correct? in a two story home, sir.

WIT: MJ: WIT: MJ:

DC:

j r~No,

Thank you. You're welcome, sir. Now, Lieutenant Melowcowsky, I understand you are offering Defense Exhibit D for identification. Is that correct?

Yes, sir.
Captain Ellis, any objection? Sir, the objection is hearsay. Lieutenant Melowcowsky, I'm not certain I understand why you're offering Defense Exhibit D for identification. Sir, these were the previous written statements made by Stacy Skovranko. They clearly show that she was confused about some of the testimony she may have given on the government's direct. I think it clarifies some of the issues that were brought up. Okay. Defense Exhibit D "for identification" you would agree is an out of court statement?

MJ: TC: MJ: DC:

MJ:
DC:

Yes, sir.
And it's offered assuming for the truth of the matter asserted?

MJ:
DC:

Yes, sir.

MJ:

Isn't that hearsay? What exception would this fit under?

327

/>

DC: MJ: DC: MJ:

Sir, we can with -- we'll withdraw the offer at this point and we will re-submit the offer later in the case. Okay. Well, I'm going to sustain the objection at this point.

Yes, sir.
I understand -- let me help focus you. I see where you were able to -- you tried to clear up with the witness some time line issues with respect to the allegations at -fckeb&ar, vis-a-vis the allegations of the incident with the child named James. Having said that however, arguably you've impeached the witness as to that point. I'm not aware of any rule that's going to allow this statement in at this point based on that foundation. Do you understand?

DC: MJ: DC: MJ:

DC: MJ:
TC:

Yes, sir.
So the objection is sustained.
Yes, sir.

Additional questions for this witness, Lieutenant Melowcowsky? I'm sorry, sirx- No, sir. Redirect, Captain Ellis?
No, sir.

EXAMINATION BY THE COURT Questions by the military judge:

Q.
A.

Ma'am, if I have this correct, you first noticed your daughter H . digging or scratching at her vagina when your husband deployed in January 2003. Is that correct? Yes, sir.
*.

Q. A.

At that time, how old was H H was four, sir.

Q-

Do you recall how many occasions between January and

V?

328

A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A.

July of 2003 you observed this behavior? I would say at most four. If I understood correctly, the first time you observed this behavior, ma'am, H was in her room or in bed? In her room, sir, yes. Do you recall -- was she lying in bed? Was this at night when you recall the circumstances? She was up in her room playing. It would have been probably mid-day, sir. And the other times that you observed this behavior, do you recall any of the circumstances? Normally in the evening time when she was in bed or to

sleep.
If I understand it correctly, at some point this behavior stopped for a period of time prior to the Hester children coming to visit. Is that correct? I don't know if it stopped per se. I didn't observe her doing it at any time between us leaving Camp Pendleton and the Hester children coming to visit. Okay. Tell me again when you left Camp Pendleton. We left Camp Pendleton in October of "03. And the Hester children came in May of 2004? Yes, sir. Did you notice any other behavior on the part of H besides digging at her vagina that you found to be unique? Wanting to spend time alone by herself, distancing herself. Thank you, ma'am. Questions in light of mine? Government?
TC: No, sir.

Q. A. Q. A. Q, A. MJ:

MJ: DC:

Defense? Sir, may I have one second?

329

MJ:

Certainly.

The defense counsel conferred. RECROSS-EXAMINATION Questions by the defense:

_

A. Q. A.

Ma'am, given this continuing medical problem, did you ever have your child examined to determine what the source of this problem was? I don't understand what you mean. Did you ever have your child checked by a doctor to see why she was scratching herself? Not that I recall, I mean, for any particular reason. Just for the digging, no. She's had regular medical

checkups.
Q. A. DC: I Did you ever tell the doctor about it? I don't recall if I have or have not. Thank you, EXAMINATION BY THE COURT Questions by the military judge: Q. A. What do you mean by regular medical checkups? Normal school checkups where -- with immunizations and if she becomes sick in any way she has a normal routine checkup just for standard health issues. Do you recall whether or not you had ever taken her to the doctor between January 2003 and May 2004? When she had gone she had a high fever. When was that? I don't recall- the exact date, sir. Do you remember the month? I want to say December. Did you report these particular observations, that is did you report seeing K digging at her vagina to the doctor at that time?

Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q.

330

Av MJ: TC: MJ:

I don't recall, sir. Warning or recall? Sir, may the government ask one more question? Certainly. REDIRECT EXAMINATION

Questions by the prosecution: Q. A. Q. Ma'am, did you ever seek advice from anyone about this behavior? I had talked to my mother-in-law about it at one point. She is a nurse back in Michigan. What did she tell you.

A.

She at that point said that sometimes children do it in

an exploration of their body like I- can't explain it exactly.

Q. A.

So after you talked to your mother-in-law, what were you thinking about whether or not you needed to go to the doctor? That it was just a normal thing that children do.

TC:
WIT: MJ: DC: MJ:
TC:

Thank you.
Thank you. Lieutenant Melowcowsky? No questions, sir. Warning or recall?
Yes, sir.

The witness was warned, excused subject to recall, and withdrew from the courtroom. MJ: The court will be in recess.

The court-martial recessed at 1456, 20 August 2007.

The court-martial was called to order at 1512, 20 August 2007.

331