Appellant Gallagher first met the child-victim and her parents when they became his patients at the public clinic operated by the chiropractic college where he was a student. After graduation Gallagher moved to another state but returned to Georgia to take his National Board examinations, and was the house guest of the victim’s family. The child-molestation incident which led to Gallagher’s arrest and the proceedings below occurred during that time.
At trial the child’s mother testified that the daughter had told her of the alleged molestation the morning after it took place, and *154 that the child had thereafter steadfastly refused to allow their guest, whom she had always liked, to come near her. The child testified, after a competency hearing, that after she had gone to bed, appellant had touched her genital area with his hand and his penis. She demonstrated the details of the incident with anatomically correct dolls. The physician who examined the child four days after the incident testified that her findings were consistent with sexual molestation.
A Cobb County jury found appellant guilty as charged, and he was sentenced to fifteen years’ imprisonment. After denial of his motion for new trial he has appealed to this court, enumerating as error the trial court’s ruling that the seven-year-old victim was competent to testify. Held:
Our examination of the trial transcript reveals no error in the proceedings below. During the competency hearing the child demonstrated clearly that she understood the difference between the truth and a lie, understood the consequences of telling lies and telling the truth, and also understood that she was obligated to tell the truth. See, e.g.,
Hester v. State,
OCGA § 24-9-7 vests the trial court with discretion to determine the competency of witnesses, and, absent abuse, that discretion will not be overruled.
Lancaster v. State,
Judgment affirmed.