¶1 — Photographic evidence figured prominently in the prosecution of Glenn Sapp for various sexual offenses against a minor child. His primary argument on appeal is a contention that either he or the minor child featured in the рhotographic evidence needed to authenticate the exhibits. We disagree and affirm.
FACTS
¶2 Around the same time that the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office received reports that Mr. Sapp had sexually abused a minor, that office was given a digital camera and memory card containing digital photographs and video recordings depicting Mr. Sapp repeatedly sexually abusing the child. Based on this evidence, the State charged Mr. Sapp with several sex offenses. The charges eventually included five counts of felony communication with a minor for immoral purposes, two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, two counts of rape of a child in the first degree, and two counts оf child molestation in the first degree.
¶3 Mr. Sapp waived his right to a jury trial. Due to the tender age of the victim, she did not testify at the bench trial. As proof of the crimes, the State offered the photographs and video recordings that it pulled from the digital camera and memory card.
¶4 The victim’s grandmother authenticated the evidence. The grandmother had known both the victim and Mr. Sapp for a number of years. Based on her personal knowledge, the grandmother identified Mr. Sapp and her grandchild as the people in the exhibits, the victim’s age at the time of the incidents, and the location where the exhibits were recorded — Mr. Sapp’s residence.
¶5 Mr. Sapp contested the grandmother’s ability to authentiсate the exhibits. He argued that authentication required testimony from a witness with knowledge of the events depicted and not just the people, time, and places depicted. The court overruled the objection. The court аlso rejected Mr. Sapp’s argument that the State had not proved that he committed a prior felony sex offense, one of the elements of the communication with a minor for immoral purposes charges.
¶6 The court thereafter found Mr. Sapp guilty on all counts and entered detailed findings of fact and conclusions of law as to each count. The court sentenced Mr. Sapp to an aggravated exceptional indeterminate sentence of 30 years to life. Mr. Sapp timely appealed to this court.
ANALYSIS
¶7 Mr. Sapp presents three arguments on appeal. His first argument generally challenges the authentication by the grandmother, and his second argument specifically challenges
Authentication
¶8 We review a trial court’s decision to admit or exclude evidence for abuse of discretion. Diaz v. State,
¶9 Video recordings follow the same standards for authentication as photographs. State v. Newman,
¶10 Although the witness does not have to be the photographer, Mr. Sapp argues that the authenticating witness must still be a witness with personal knowledge of the events depicted. He relies on Saldivar v. Momah,
¶11 Saldivar, however, did not extend that far. An authenticating witness does not necessarily have to have been present at the recording of the exhibit in order to know “when, where, and under what circumstances the recording was madе.” A witness with prior knowledge of the people and places depicted in the exhibit could still establish when the exhibit was created based on the age of people in the exhibit or things depicted in the background.
¶12 To read such a stringent holding into Saldivar would require Washingtоn to adopt the “pictorial testimony theory of photographs.” Under this theory, a photograph is a substitute for another person’s testimony and is only admissible with contemporaneous testimony from a witness who testifies that the photograph is an accurate representation of his personal knowledge. 3 John Henry Wigmore, Evidence in Trials at Common Law § 790, at 219 (James H. Chadbourn rev. ed. 1970).
¶13 This theory long ago gave way to a second theory of admissibility — the “silent witness” theory of photograph admissibility. Id. at 219-20; 32A C.J.S. Evidence § 1254 (2008); Higgins v. Ariz. Sav. & Loan Ass’n,
¶14 Notably, Wigmore’s treatise highlights sex crime prosecutions as one of the key impetuses for adopting the silent witness theory. 3 Wigmore, supra, at 220. In such cases, there might not be any witnesses othеr than a photograph. As an example, Wigmore uses People v. Doggett,
¶15 The Washington Supreme Court has in practice followed the silent witness theory.. In one photograph authentication case, the court held that a photograph was sufficiently authenticated through a witness who accurately identified the location shown in the picture, and another witness who talked about the store’s standard practice of photographing customers. State v. Tatum,
¶16 In the analogous field of audio recordings, this court has explicitly held that authentication of an audio recording does not require testimony from a party to the recording. “A sound recording, in particular, need not be authenticated by a witness with personal knowledge of the events recоrded.” State v. Williams,
¶17 We believe it is clear that Washington does not require photographs and other recordings tо be authenticated by a witness present for their creation. Accordingly, we hold that the victim’s grandmother adequately authenticated the photographs and video recordings in this case when she identified the individuals in the exhibits, the victim’s approximate age, and the location depicted in the exhibits.
¶18 Mr. Sapp next argues that exhibits 21, 22, 28, 30, and 33 also lacked adequate authentication because the victim’s grandmother did not identify the location depicted in those exhibits. While true, the victim’s grandmother still provided the identity of the people in the exhibits and the victim’s age, which established the time frame for the acts depicted in the exhibits.
¶19 The trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the photographic evidence.
Sufficiency of the Evidence
¶20 Finally, Mr. Sapp argues that the State failed to produce sufficient evidence to prove that he committed the five charged counts of felony communication with a minor for immoral purposes. On a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, this court views the evidence in a light most favorable to the State and asks whether any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the charged crime beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Rempel,
¶21 In relevant part, this crime requires proof that “the person has previously been convicted under this section or of a felony sexual offense.” RCW 9.68A.090(2). “[W]hen criminal liability deрends on the accused’s being the person to whom a document pertains ... the State must do more than authenticate and admit the document; it also must show beyond a reasonable doubt ‘that the person named therein is the same
¶22 To prove the prior conviction element, the State submitted documents showing that Mr. Sapp had previously been convicted in Chelan County of possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. These documents included cеrtified copies of the Chelan County charging information, Mr. Sapp’s statement of defendant on plea of guilty, and the judgment and sentence.
¶23 Mr. Sapp argues that the evidence is mere reliance on the identity of names. Howevеr, the documents show that the Glenn Eugene Sapp who pleaded guilty in Chelan County to two counts of felony possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct had the same name, sex, race, and datе of birth as the Glenn Eugene Sapp who was on trial in Spokane County. We conclude that the record contained sufficient evidence for a rational trier of fact to find that Mr. Sapp had a prior felony sex offense conviction.
¶24 Affirmed.
Fearing and Lawrence-Berrey, JJ., concur.
Notes
We note that the grandmother did not provide location information for these photographs because she was not asked to by either side. The record does not show that she lacked knowledge of the location depicted. In all likelihood, the location was the same as the rest of the exhibits — Mr. Sapp’s residence.