Full opinion text
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER GLEESON, District Judge. On October 19, 1992, a jury convicted Anthony Sparman (“Sparman” or “petitioner”) of repeatedly raping his twin nieces, Annata-sha (“Anna”) and Donnasha (“Donna”). On November 9, 1992, Sparman was sentenced to a term of incarceration of three to nine years. After unsuccessfully pursuing relief in state court, petitioner brought this habeas corpus petition, alleging that (1) his trial counsel was ineffective; (2) a state court evidentiary ruling was unconstitutional; and (3) the prosecutor’s summation was improper and prejudicial. I referred the petition to Magistrate Judge Joan Azrack for a Report and Recommendation. Judge Azrack filed her report on September 27, 1996, in which she recommended that I grant the petition based on trial counsel’s performance, which she described as “grossly ineffective” and “severely prejudicial]” to petitioner. Specifically, Judge Azrack concluded that trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance in, inter alia, three primary ways: (1) he did not adequately investí-gate the case, and thus was unaware that Marie Onyema saw Alfred Sparman, petitioner’s half-brother, sexually abusing Anna in 1991; (2) he did not elicit favorable medical evidence that tended to show that any sexual abuse that the twins suffered occurred subsequent to the nineteen-month period ending in April 1988, in which petitioner allegedly sexually abused the twins; and (3) he failed to cross-examine the twins on material inconsistencies between their testimony at trial and statements they made to the police. A copy of Judge Azrack’s report and recommendation is attached to this memorandum. After reviewing Magistrate Judge Azrack’s report, the transcript of the oral argument before her on May 23, 1996, respondent’s objections to the Report and Recommendation and the petitioner’s submissions with respect thereto, I ordered that an evidentiary hearing be held on the following issues: (1) what trial counsel was told by petitioner with respect to Marie Onyema; (2) the nature and value to the defense of the medical evidence not presented at trial; and (3) the reasons for trial counsel’s failure to cross-examine the twins on their inconsistent statements. An evidentiary hearing was held on March 4, 1997, at which Dr. Cynthia Yvonne Stevens, Dr. Karen Woodburn-Hourie and trial counsel, Jay Schwitzman, testified, and post-hearing submissions have been filed by both parties. Except as indicated below, I adopt the report of Magistrate Judge Azrack. I further adopt her recommendation that Spar-man’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus be granted. BACKGROUND Between September 1986 and April 1988, petitioner lived with his half-brother Alfred Sparman, Alfred’s wife, his mother, a nurse and Alfred’s twin girls (Anna and Donna). It is during this period of time that respondent claims petitioner repeatedly raped the twin girls. Indeed, both sides agree that after petitioner moved out of Alfred’s home in April 1988, he had little contact with his nieces. The allegation that petitioner sexually abused the twins first surfaced on July 20, 1991, when Alfred took the twins to the police station, purportedly on the first day that Alfred became aware that they had been abused. While there, according to the police reports, the twins told the police that petitioner had sexual intercourse with them “over the last 4 years.” Petitioner contends that any sexual abuse suffered by the twins occurred after April 1988 and was likely inflicted by Alfred, not him. In support of this argument, petitioner details a long history of animosity between the two and notes that Alfred was on the eve of trial on charges of sexually abusing an eighteen year-old female when he brought the twins to the police station in July 1991 to file charges against petitioner. Most importantly, petitioner also claims that trial counsel failed to investigate and present medical evidence that could have established that petitioner was not the perpetrator because the twins were not abused prior to April 1988, the date he moved out of Alfred’s home. DISCUSSION A. Marie Onyema Sparman argues that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate and pursue his pre-trial suggestion to contact Marie Onyema, who allegedly saw Alfred Sparman abusing the twins in 1991. This piece of evidence, according to Sparman, could have raised doubts as to the identity of the perpetrator and would have permitted the introduction into evidence of Alfred Spar-man’s 1991 conviction for sexual abuse. This argument is without merit. The uncontradicted evidence at the hearing was that Sparman never told his counsel to interview Onyema. Tr. at 59. Indeed, prior to trial, Sparman wrote a five-page letter to his counsel in which he detailed his defense, and nowhere in that letter did he mention Marie Onyema or any possible testimony that she could provide. Petitioner’s Hearing Exhibit 3. In any event, petitioner was not prejudiced by counsel’s failure to interview Onyema. Although Onyema signed an affidavit on November 30,1994, in which she stated that she saw Alfred Sparman sexually interacting with Anna in 1991, she has since recanted that statement. By affidavit signed March 3, 1997, Onyema stated that she did not carefully read the prior affidavit, and that its contents were not true. This ground of the petition reeks of a crude post-conviction effort to fabricate exculpatory evidence and blame trial counsel for failing to present it. Onyema is described by petitioner as a former girlfriend of Alfred Sparman, which is apparently true. However, she is also a former wife of petitioner himself, a fact petitioner chose not to reveal to Judge Azrack. Accordingly, trial counsel did not fall short of his constitutional obligations by failing to interview Marie Onyema. B. The Medical Evidence Not Offered At Trial Petitioner contends that trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to introduce essential medical evidence and testimony that could have exonerated him. I agree. At petitioner’s trial, the prosecution presented the testimony of Dr. Mohammed Baker, which supported the twins’ account of Sparman’s sexual abuse. Specifically, in 1991, shortly after the twins’ interviews with the police, Dr. Baker performed gynecological exams on both girls and found tears in their hymens and redness and abrasions in their vaginas. Dr. Baker further testified that these physical signs were consistent with penile penetration as much as four years earlier, but could also reflect recent sexual activity. In addition, Dr. Baker noticed a whitish discharge from Anna’s, but not Donna’s, vagina, which was later determined to be gardnerella vaginalis, a bacterial infection that can be transmitted sexually. To combat this medical evidence, petitioner’s trial counsel presented the testimony of Dr. Paula Nadig, a pediatrician who examined the twins on September 13, 1988, several months after Sparman had moved out of the twins’ residence. Dr. Nadig concluded that Anna and Donna were both “normal female[s], virgin[s].” Trial Tr. at 392-93, 404. Accordingly, her findings were “inconsistent with sexual intercourse.” Trial Tr. at 405. The purpose of this testimony was to establish that, even if the girls were abused as of 1991, they were not molested by anyone prior to September 13, 1988, and thus, petitioner did not abuse the twins. However, on cross-examination, the prosecutor successfully discredited Dr. Nadig’s findings by noting that the examinations were very fast, and that Dr. Nadig did not use stirrups or bright lights, look at the girls’ hymens, take any specimens from them or instruct them to completely take off their underwear. Trial Tr. at 410-412. Accordingly, in summation, the prosecutor derided Dr. Nadig’s findings as “offensive,” telling the jury that they had heard about her examination and about “how quick, how brief, and how incomplete it was.” Trial Tr. at 725, 702. Although trial counsel was aware, in advance of the trial, of the importance of the medical testimony in this case, he consistently failed to adequately investigate whether he could have offered additional evidence in support of the argument that the twins were not abused prior to April of 1988. On May 5, 1992, counsel received Dr. Baker’s medical reports. It took four months, until September 2, 1992, for trial counsel to send these documents to an expert, Dr. Leonard F. Rosenzweig, to review them. Within two weeks, Dr. Rosenzweig communicated to counsel his analysis of Dr. Baker’s reports. On September 21, 1992, two weeks before trial, the prosecutor turned over to petitioner’s trial counsel roughly ten pages of additional medical reports, which described physical examinations that occurred between April 1988 and Dr. Baker’s examination in July of 1991. One report noted that a Dr. Hourie performed a “physical exam” on both of the twins on June 24,1991, just one month before Dr. Baker’s exam, and that the girls were “doing well” and had “no complaints.” Another report indicated that a Dr. Stevens, after noticing “yeast like cells,” collected a fungus culture from Anna’s vagina on January 29,1990, and she received a microbiology report analyzing that culture. Petitioner’s trial counsel did nothing to investigate the contents of these reports. Indeed, he did not contact the doctors who wrote them (Dr. Stevens and Dr. Hourie) or request that another doctor review them. In so doing, he failed to present powerful exculpatory testimony. Dr. Stevens examined the twins in January 1990 and November 1990, and Dr. Hourie examined them in June 1991. Tr. at 13, 21, 118. At the hearing on this petition, Dr. Hourie testified that she did not notice any tears or abrasions in the girls’ vaginas, and had those signs been present, she would have noticed them when she examined the twins. Tr. at 122. In addition, Dr. Hourie observed that the girls’ hymens were intact. Tr. at 121. Drs. Stevens and Hourie also testified at the hearing that gardnerella, a sexually transmitted disease found by Dr. Baker in his July 1991 exam of Anna, was not present in either girl at the time of the girls’ examinations. Finally, both Drs. Stevens and Hourie testified that Dr. Baker’s conclusion that redness can linger in a child’s vagina for over three years after sexual abuse had ceased was unfounded. Tr. at 32, 123, 125, 133. Therefore, had counsel adequately investigated the case and called Drs. Stevens and Hourie to testify at petitioner’s trial, counsel could have raised serious doubts as to whether the twins were in fact abused prior to April of 1988, as they had testified. Indeed, if the jury believed the doctors’ testimony, it would likely have concluded that the twins were abused sometime after Dr. Hourie’s examination in June of 1991, since, as of that time, there was no redness in the girls’ vagi-nas and Anna had not yet contracted gard-nerella. There is no controversy that petitioner had almost no contact with the twins in 1991. Accordingly, the jury would likely have concluded that petitioner could not have committed the crime charged. At the hearing, trial counsel offered only specious arguments as to why he did not present the testimony of Drs. Stevens and Hourie. Counsel first contended that he did not know if the reference to “yeast like cells” in Dr. Stevens’ report was consistent with sexual abuse, and he “did not want to find out in front of a jury.” Tr. at 87-88. This explanation demonstrates how little preparation occurred prior to trial. If this indeed were his concern, counsel could have simply telephoned Dr. Stevens or any other doctor to learn the causes of a yeast infection, which do not include sexual contact. In addition, counsel testified that he learned that yeast infections were common in young girls during petitioner’s trial. Tr. at 91; see Trial Tr. at 407. Therefore, counsel’s argument does not explain why, after this discovery, he did not seek to use the testimony of Dr. Stevens or Dr. Hourie. Trial counsel further testified to an “impression” that Dr. Stevens was not available, although he did not “remember if it was Dr. Nadig that said that.” Tr. at 145. Counsel also explained that “[f]or some reason I remember looking for a Dr. Martin rather than a Dr. Stevens.” Id. As for Dr. Hourie, counsel’s only explanation for failing to make any attempt to contact her was that “her notes were very small.” Tr. at 146. These explanations are not sufficient. Counsel’s failure even to contact the HIP Center, where the girls were examined, see Tr. at 150, is incomprehensible. Respondent’s final argument is that trial counsel “made a tactical decision to rely on Dr. Nadig’s testimony, which counsel reasonably believed would be more timely and helpful than that of the other doctors.” This opinion, however, was not offered by trial counsel at the hearing. More importantly, counsel failed to investigate the potential strength of Dr. Stevens’ and Dr. Hourie’s potential testimony in order to make an informed decision as to whether to use their testimony at trial. Had he done so, a decision not to call both Drs. Stevens and Hourie would have been irrational. In fact, the record demonstrates that counsel failed to investigate the contents of the medical reports provided to him on September 21,1992, two weeks before trial, and that he appreciated the significance of that failure. He requested “numerous adjournments,” Tr. at 73-74, and on October 16, 1992, just before closing arguments, he requested that the charges against his client be dismissed for, among other reasons, the prosecution’s failure to turn over essential medical evidence until two weeks before trial. Accordingly, counsel realized the essential character of the medical reports written by Drs. Stevens and Hourie; he just neglected to find the time to investigate them. In sum, counsel did not pursue basic avenues of investigation, which would have led to the discovery of Drs. Stevens and Hourie, whose testimony at trial might well have resulted in petitioner’s acquittal. This failure alone, given the importance of the medical testimony in this case, denied petitioner the right to counsel guaranteed to him by the Sixth Amendment and the corollary right to a fair trial. See Dorsey v. Kelly, 92 Civ. 8943, 1997 WL 400211 (S.D.N.Y. July 16, 1997) (quoting Kimmelman v. Morrison, 477 U.S. 365, 383, 106 S.Ct. 2574, 91 L.Ed.2d 305 (1986)) (one “single, serious error may support a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel”). C. The Cross-Examination Of The Twins At petitioner’s trial, the prosecution’s theory, supported by the twins’ testimony, was that petitioner abused the twins while he was living with them between September 1986 and April 1988, and that the abuse ended when Sparman moved out of the house in April 1988. See, e.g., Trial Tr. at 104, 202; Tr. at 101. However, according to police reports, the twins stated to the police in 1991, when they first complained of abuse, that they had been abused “until recently” and “over the last four years.” Petitioner’s Hearing Exhibits 8, 9 and 10. Inexplicably, trial counsel failed to cross-examine the twins about this inconsistency, even though it supported the defense theory that Anthony Sparman was not the perpetrator, and that someone else, likely Alfi’ed Sparman, abused the children after Anthony Sparman left the twins’ house. At the hearing, trial counsel explained that he did not cross-examine the twins about the statements that they made to the police because he feared that such questioning would open the door to the presentation of evidence on an incident in 1991, where petitioner asked Anna whether he could kiss her. This argument is wholly unpersuasive. First, counsel’s concern over the presentation of evidence on the 1991 incident is difficult to fathom. Petitioner was charged with raping the twins on an almost daily basis over at least a two and one-half year period. In that context, it was not a rational trial strategy to avoid using likely damaging impeachment material so as to avoid testimony on a single, additional, isolated incident of an attempted physical advance. Second, Donna did not testify, at any point, that she had been subjected to sexual abuse at the hands of petitioner after 1988. Therefore, counsel could have cross-examined her about her statements to the police without any concern that she might further inculpate petitioner. Third, counsel’s inartful cross-examination of Anna opened the door, in any event, to the testimony that counsel now claims he sought to preclude; Anna testified about the 1991 incident. Once that testimony was received into evidence, counsel no longer had even this lame reason for failing to cross-examine Anna on her inconsistent statements to the police. Nevertheless, he failed to do so. CONCLUSION To the extent and for the reasons stated above, I adopt the attached Report and Recommendation of Magistrate Azrack and grant Sparman’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Respondent is directed to release petitioner from custody within 45 days of the date of this order unless the state declares its intention, before those 45 days expire, to re-try petitioner on the charges against him. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION AZRACK, United States Magistrate Judge. The above-referenced action was referred to the undersigned by the Honorable John Gleeson, United States District Judge, for a Report and Recommendation on Anthony Sparman’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus. After careful review of the record, the briefs submitted by both sides and their respective oral arguments, it is respectfully recommended that the petition be granted. On October 19, 1992, a jury convicted petitioner of eight counts of statutory rape and eight counts of incest pursuant to New York Penal Law Sections 130.35 and 255.25, respectively. The conviction was based on evidence that petitioner, a six foot four inch male, repeatedly raped, on almost a daily basis, his twin nieces, Annatasha (“Anna”) and Donnasha (“Donna”), during the period when he lived with his half-brother’s family, from September 1986 to April 1988 when the twins were six to eight years old. On November 9, 1992 the court sentenced petitioner to a prison term of from three to nine years. Presently, petitioner argues that relief is warranted because: (1) his trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective; (2) a key trial court evidentiary ruling barring the admission of the victims’ father’s arrest and conviction for the sexual abuse of an eighteen year old co-worker was unconstitutional; and, (3) the prosecutor’s summation was improper and prejudicial. The principal thrust of petitioner’s ineffective assistance of counsel argument is, in summary, that due to the incompetence of his trial counsel to both investigate and argue petitioner’s case at trial, petitioner was precluded from presenting a coherent and compelling defense that he was innocent. The critical evidence which was not offered at trial included: (1) four medical examinations of Anna Sparman, two of which included genital examinations as well as a vaginal swab, that failed to show any signs of abuse on Anna in the months and years between April 1988, the date of the last charged crime, and July 1991, when an examination first revealed evidence of sexual abuse; (2) testimony that petitioner’s half-brother, Alfred Sparman, the father of Anna and Donna, was seen by Alfred’s girlfriend, Marie Onyema, sexually abusing Anna only weeks before that July 1991 examination; and (3) evidence casting doubt on the prosecution doctor’s conclusions that the physical signs of sexual abuse he observed in July 1991 were a product of petitioner’s alleged sexual abuse of the victims at least three years earlier. Moreover, continues petitioner, the testimony regarding Alfred’s reported sexual abuse of his own daughter, Anna, in 1991 would have established the requisite eviden-tiary link under state law to entitle petitioner to introduce at trial Alfred’s arrest and conviction for the Sexual Abuse in the First Degree of an eighteen year old co-worker, rendered just nine days after the sexual abuse of his own daughters’ was discovered. This evidence, argues petitioner, when combined with other evidence of an ongoing bitter intra-family feud, provided Alfred—as the true perpetrator—with strong motivation to frame his half-brother, the petitioner, for the abuse of the twins. In addition to his ineffective assistance of counsel claim, petitioner also claims that the trial court’s ruling barring petitioner’s counsel from presenting any evidence of Alfred Sparman’s sexual abuse conviction was unconstitutional and that the prosecutor’s summation was improper, prejudiced the jury and rendered the trial fundamentally unfair. This Court finds that petitioner’s trial counsel was ineffective and that petitioner was severely prejudiced by this ineffectiveness. Petitioner’s remaining claims are not meritorious. I. Background and Evidence Presented at Trial A. The Sparman Family From 1986 to 1988, the period during which the State asserts Anna and Donna were repeatedly raped, petitioner lived with his half-brother, Alfred Sparman; his brother’s wife, Paulette; petitioner’s mother, Olga Sparman, a nurse; and the twins, Anna and Donna, in a two bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, New York. It is uncontested that during most of this period Alfred Sparman was away at medical school in upstate New York. Alfred Sparman returned to his home in June 1990. It is also uneontested that in or about the end of April 1988, the date of the last charged crime, petitioner moved out of his half-brother’s home and petitioner had no significant contact with his twin nieces after that date. Petitioner asserts that his relationship with his half-brother prior to petitioner’s 1992 trial was strained and that deep and bitter divisions existed in the Sparman family. Affidavit of Anthony Sparman, Pet. Exhibit “X” (hereinafter “Sparman Affidavit”). Petitioner contends that these divisions stemmed initially from his emigration to the United States from Guyana and his failure to provide assistance to Georgiana Devonish, petitioner’s half-sister, and her three children, who were still living in Guyana. Spar-man Affidavit at ¶ 5. Petitioner asserts that the family became further divided because petitioner refused to continue to provide financial support to Alfred’s family while Alfred was away at medical school. Id. Petitioner maintains that another wedge between petitioner and Alfred developed in 1990 when Alfred moved in with petitioner following a temporary separation from his wife. Id. at ¶ 6. Shortly after Alfred moved in, petitioner claims that he asked Alfred to leave because Olga Sparman, Anthony’s and Alfred’s mother, discovered Alfred having sex, with a woman other than his wife, in petitioner’s home. Finally, petitioner maintains that he “enraged” Alfred by refusing to lend him money to fund Alfred’s legal expenses following Alfred’s arrest for sexual abuse of a female co-worker in early 1991. Id. at ¶ 8. B. The Trial Court’s “Clear Link” Eviden-tiary Ruling Prior to trial, defense counsel sought permission to introduce proof at trial of Alfred Sparman’s 1991 conviction for Sexual Abuse in the First Degree to help show that Alfred, not petitioner, was responsible for abusing the twins. That conviction stemmed from a January 14, 1991 arrest in Onondaga County where an eighteen year old co-worker charged that Alfred had sexually assaulted her in a doctors’ lounge of a hospital. (Trial Transcript at 18) (hereinafter “Tr.”). In denying defense counsel’s motion, the trial court relied on a New York state rule of evidence known as “clear link,” which holds that in order for a defendant to argue that a third person committed the crime with which the defendant is charged, the defendant must present facts or circumstances that clearly implicate that third person as the guilty party. People v. Aulet, 111 A.D.2d 822, 825, 490 N.Y.S.2d 567, 570 (2d Dept.1985); People v. Brown, 133 A.D.2d 773, 774, 520 N.Y.S.2d 166 (1987), app. den., 70 N.Y.2d 953, 525 N.Y.S.2d 837, 520 N.E.2d 555 (1988). Defense counsel’s failed argument appeared to be that the timing of Alfred Spar-man’s sex abuse trial, scheduled to begin nine days after the discovery of the twins’ abuse, coupled with earlier charges against Alfred for criminal impersonation and falsification of medical reports, sufficiently linked him to the abuse of the twins. (Tr. at 18-19). In particular, defense counsel attempted to argue that Alfred’s then-pending sex abuse trial provided Alfred with a motive to manipulate the twins’ statements to the police and their testimony at trial. (Tr. at 19, 256-7). Based on the limited support offered by trial counsel, the trial court rejected petitioner’s clear link argument and stated that “I am satisfied that this is not a clear link that establishes that the father committed the crime, and under the circumstances, I am not going to allow you to bring it out during the course of the trial, whether by cross-examination of the twins or any other way.” (Tr. at 19). Later in the trial, the court underscored its ruling when it denied defense counsel permission to call Alfred Sparman to the stand in order to question Alfred about his sexual abuse arrest and his motive to frame petitioner. (Tr. at 257-58). C. Evidence at Trial The evidence presented against petitioner at trial consisted chiefly of Anna’s and Donna’s testimony concerning the abuse, petitioner’s incriminating statements allegedly made to Georgiana Devonish in 1987, contemporaneous statements the twins made to their cousin, Natasha, in Guyana in 1987, and medical testimony and evidence based on a July 20,1991 examination of the twins, which showed physical signs of their sexual abuse. At trial, the twins testified that from 1986-1988 petitioner raped them on almost a daily basis in their Brooklyn apartment. The twins stated that on weekdays, after they got home from school, petitioner would call one of them into the bedroom. (Tr. at 76, 149). Once in the bedroom, the twins testified, petitioner would direct them to take off their clothes and then tell them that they were going to “wrestle.” (Tr. at 76, 149). The children then testified that petitioner would insert his penis into their vaginas. (Tr. at 78, 149). During this two year period, the twins’ ages ranged from six to eight years. Natasha Sparman, the twins’ cousin, testified that during a 1987 trip to Guyana when Natasha was eleven years old, the twins told her about the abuse. (Tr. at 138). Although told to keep the abuse secret, Natasha confided in her mother, Georgiana Devonish, petitioner’s half-sister, about what the twins had revealed. (Tr. at 138). Georgiana Devonish testified at petitioner’s trial that she confronted petitioner in December 1987 about whether he was “interfering” with Anna. (Tr. at 55). Georgiana reported that petitioner told her not to tell the children’s father and that petitioner “won’t do it any more.” (Tr. at 56). Geor-giana testified that on another occasion petitioner denied having intercourse with the children but admitted that “he maybe fingered them.” (Tr. at 60). Georgiana also testified that in 1987 she told the twins’ grandmother, Olga Sparman, about the abuse but that to her knowledge Olga never cheeked Anna’s or Donna’s physical condition, even though Olga lived with the twins and was a nurse. (Tr. at 63, 65). For reasons unexplained in the record, Georgiana waited three and one-half years, until July 20, 1991, before she told the twins’ parents, Alfred and Paulette Sparman, of petitioner’s alleged abuse. (Tr. at 230). On that date, Paulette Sparman testified that she and Alfred questioned the twins and the children told them that petitioner had abused them. (Tr. at 231). Alfred Sparman then immediately took the girls to the police. (Tr. at 175, 232). At the police station, the girls made statements regarding the abuse. According to police reports, the twins told the police that they had been abused “until recently” and, at another point, that they had been abused over the past four years. See Police Reports, July 20 and 23, 1991, Pet.Ex. “M” and “N.” In other statements and at trial, however, the twins asserted that the abuse ended when petitioner moved out of the house in 1988. See Pet.Ex. “N” at 2; (Tr. at 90, 170, 173). Similarly, the children told investigators that they were abused either in the bathroom or the bedroom or that they were “usually” abused in the bathroom. Pet. Exhibit “N” and “P.” Yet, at trial Anna stated that the abuse occurred only once or twice in the bathroom, (Tr. at 165), and Donna testified that the rapes occurred “sometimes” in the bathroom. (Tr. at 90). None of these discrepancies were raised by defense counsel at petitioner’s trial. Both twins testified that during and after the rapes they felt pain and burning and would frequently yell out and complain to petitioner about the pain. (Tr. at 87, 161). No one in the family, however, saw or noted any physical manifestations of the abuse, despite testimony by the twins’ mother, Paulette Sparman, that she washed her daughters’ clothing on almost a weekly basis during the period from 1986-1988 and that she bathed the girls once or twice a day and sometimes observed them when they washed their vaginas. (Tr. at 233-34). On cross-examination, Anna Sparman testified that her grandmother, Olga Sparman, a nurse, washed her and her sister, including their vaginas, during this two year period. (Tr. at 188). On direct, however, Anna testified that her grandmother had never “looked” at her vagina. (Tr. at 175). The girls also testified that aside from Dr. Na-dig’s 1988 examination and Dr. Baker’s 1991 examinations, neither of them had ever had any other vaginal examinations. (Tr. at 128, 175). Following their interviews with the police in 1991, the twins were taken to a hospital and examined by Dr. Mohammed Baker, an obstetrieian/gynecologist. (Tr. at 175). Dr. Baker performed a gynecological exam and found “interruptions” or tears in the hymens of both girls. (Tr. at 284, 290). Dr. Baker also observed abrasions, redness and some swelling in both girls’ vaginas. (Tr. at 290, 316). Dr. Baker asserted that his findings were consistent with repeated penile penetration that could have occurred as much as four years earlier. (Tr. at 285, 292). On cross-examination, however, Dr. Baker conceded that the redness and abrasions he observed also could be consistent with recent sexual activity. (Tr. at 304-05). Dr. Baker also noticed a “whitish discharge” from Anna’s vagina. (Tr. at 292, 304). The discharge, according to Dr. Baker, was a product of a yeast infection, as well as gard-nerella vaginalis, a bacterial infection that can be transmitted sexually. (Tr. at 312-13). Dr. Baker did not observe any discharge from Donna’s vagina. On cross-examination, Dr. Baker maintained that it was possible for both girls to have intercourse with the same individual and yet for only one girl to contract gardnerella vaginalis. (Tr. at 314, 321). The prosecution also called Dr. Don Lew-ittes. Lewittes, a psychologist, testified as an expert witness regarding the psychological reasons underlying the twins’ delayed disclosure of the rapes. (Tr. at 325). Although Dr. Lewittes examined neither Anna nor Donna, he testified as to the general stages that characterize the sexual abuse of children and childrens’ emotional and psychological reactions to such abuse. (Tr. at 336). Dr. Lewittes testified that the failure of the twins to reveal the sexual abuse immediately was consistent with the syndrome of child sexual abuse. (Tr. at 342). Defense counsel called only one medical witness, Dr. Paula Nadig, a pediatrician who had conducted physical examinations of the children on September 13,1988 in connection with a follow-up appointment for previous strep throat infections. (Tr. at 389, 409). Doctor Nadig testified that during the course of those physical examinations she conducted genital examinations of the children. (Tr. at 391, 404). Dr. Nadig had each child lie down and move her legs apart; the doctor then visually inspected the labia majora, the labia minora and the vaginal area. (Tr. at 391-92). Dr. Nadig recorded that Anna and Donna Sparman were both “normal female[s], virgin[s].” (Tr. at 392-404). Dr. Nadig testified that use of the word “virgin” means that the “vagina was completely closed” and she concluded that her examinations were “inconsistent with ... vaginal sexual intercourse.” (Tr. at 393, 404^5). On cross-examination, however, Dr. Nadig acknowledged that she did not use stirrups or bright lights to perform the vaginal examinations of the twins and did not physically see the twins’ hymens. Therefore, she could not conclude with certainty that the girls’ hymens were not ruptured, only that because the vaginas were so tightly closed she could not see the girls’ hymens and thus assumed that they were not ruptured. (Tr. at 410, 418). Dr. Nadig noted that a child who had had sexual intercourse with an adult male would have an open vagina. (Tr. at 420, 421). Upon taking the stand, the petitioner herein, Anthony Sparman, denied that he ever sexually abused his twin nieces, denied ever telling Georgiana Sparman that he “did something sexual” to Anna and Donna and asserted that he never has had gardnerella. (Tr. at 475-76). During defendant’s direct testimony, defense counsel began a line of questioning apparently aimed at establishing that bad blood existed between Anthony and his half-brother Alfred because of Anthony’s refusal to help fund Alfred Sparman’s legal expenses incurred in connection with Anthony’s pending trial for sexual abuse of an eighteen year old co-worker. (Tr. at 482). When the prosecution objected, the trial court conducted one of the few recorded side-bar conferences, at which time the trial court, based on its pre-trial ruling on the clear link issue, instructed defense counsel to keep his questioning surrounding Alfred’s legal expenses vague and refer to Alfred’s request for money as arising from only “a 'time of need” and not to any specific legal troubles Alfred then faced. (Tr. at 483). Following this ruling, defense counsel, for unknown reasons, never pursued this line of questioning at all during the rest of petitioner’s direct examination. Instead, counsel belatedly attempted to ask defendant on re-direct whether Alfred Spar-man had ever asked defendant for money, at which time the court sustained the prosecutor’s objection, ruling that the question was beyond the scope of cross-examination. (Tr. at 506). Defense counsel did not ask any other questions of petitioner to establish the divisions within the Sparman family. Defense counsel also started to elicit direct testimony from petitioner about an incident on Mother’s Day in 1991, during which petitioner claims he saw Anna leave a family celebration with her father and return several hours later, crying. Once again, the prosecutor objected, but after the trial judge permitted the inquiry, defense counsel failed to pursue this line of questioning during direct examination. (Tr. at 506). When counsel tried to inquire about the Mother’s Day incident on redirect, the prosecutor objected and the court again found that the question was beyond the scope of cross-examination. (Tr. at 506). Neither the prosecution nor defense counsel called Alfred Sparman, the twins’ father, to the stand. In his summation, defense counsel attempted to argue that the medical testimony of Dr. Nadig established that defendant was innocent. (Tr. at 671). Counsel conceded that something had happened to the twins, but that his client was not the perpetrator. (Tr. at 661-62). Counsel also argued that since the children’s testimony alleged actual intercourse, the jury could not convict defendant of any lesser included sexual offense. (Tr. at 663). Following this summation, the trial court upbraided defense counsel and described portions of the summation as being “to say the least, shabby.” (Tr. at 687-688). During the course of her summation, the prosecutor recounted the State’s witness’ testimony and argued “I, of course, believe that the evidence points to Anthony Sparman as the rapist” and that the evidence demonstrated that the rapes “clearly, clearly happened in this case.” (Tr. at 693, 703). In particular, the prosecutor told the jury that Geor-giana Devonish’s testimony “was credible, and had the ring of truth.” (Tr. at 704). Moreover, continued the prosecutor, the twins’ testimony was corroborated by the physical evidence uncovered during Dr. Baker’s examination. (Tr. at 700). In contrast, Dr. Nadig’s examination, argued the prosecutor, was “quick” and “incomplete” and as a result Dr. Nadig’s testimony regarding the twins’ virginity was “offensive.” (Tr. at 702, 725). II. Post-Trial Procedural History Following his state court conviction, petitioner retained new counsel and appealed to the Appellate Division, Second Department, asserting that (1) the trial court had erroneously admitted testimony speculating that the 1991 medical findings were consistent with the 1986-1988 abuse; (2) the trial court had abused its discretion and violated petitioner’s constitutional rights by precluding petitioner from arguing that his half-brother had fabricated the charges against him; (3) the prosecutor’s summation had been improper and denied him a fair trial; (4) the cumulative effect of trial errors had denied petitioner a fair trial; (5) the verdict had been against the weight of the evidence; and, (6) petitioner had been denied effective assistance of counsel. Affidavit of Robert J. Anello at ¶ 10 (hereinafter “Anello”). During oral argument on petitioner’s appeal, the Appellate Division panel stated that the claim regarding ineffective assistance of counsel was not appropriate for review because it depended on matters outside the record. Anello at ¶ 4. On March 7, 1994, the Appellate Division, Second Department, affirmed petitioner’s judgment of conviction, finding that petitioner’s conviction was supported by the twins’ testimony, expert medical and psychological testimony and that the trial court’s clear link ruling barring admission of Alfred’s conviction for sexual abuse was proper. On August 26, 1994, the New York Court of Appeals denied Anthony Sparman’s application for leave to appeal. People v. Sparman, 202 A.D.2d 452, 453, 608 N.Y.S.2d 672, 673 (1994), leave to appeal denied, People v. Sparman, 84 N.Y.2d 833, 617 N.Y.S.2d 153, 641 N.E.2d 174 (1994). Three months later, on November 30,1994, petitioner moved before the same state court judge who had presided at trial to vacate petitioner’s conviction, pursuant to N.Y.Crim. Proc.Law § 440.10, on the grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel. In support of that motion, petitioner presented Anna’s medical reports for the period of 1989 to 1990, which were not presented at trial but were significant for their failure to note any signs of abuse in the months and years following April 1988, when petitioner moved out of the twins’ house. In addition, petitioner also submitted the affidavit of Marie Onyema, Alfred Sparman’s girlfriend, which asserted that Onyema had seen Alfred Sparman abuse his daughter, Anna Sparman, on Mother’s Day in 1991. Petitioner also submitted excerpts from medical journals rebutting Dr. Baker’s expert conclusions that the signs of abuse observed in July 1991 would be attributed to acts committed more than three years earlier. In denying petitioner’s motion to vacate his conviction, the trial court, without conducting an evidentiary hearing, concluded that trial counsel’s representation did not fall to the level of ineffective assistance of counsel. Although noting that trial counsel’s evi-dentiary argument regarding the court’s clear link ruling was “not spectacularly argued” and counsel’s summation “may have been disjointed,” the court concluded that, on the whole, taking into account the “overwhelming weight of the evidence” and that any errors made “did not prejudice defendant to such an extent that had they not been made, the result would have been different,” the court denied petitioner’s motion. People v. Sparman, No. 9003/91, Slip Op. at 7, 9 (Sup.Ct. Kings County April 12, 1995) (Kreindler, J.), attached as Pet.Ex. “E.” In addition, the court found that because the four medical records demonstrating that Anna had had at least two vaginal examinations from 1989-1990 did not contain any findings regarding the “condition of the victims’ vaginas or hymens,” the reports did not support defendant’s motion. Slip op. at 7. Similarly, the trial court concluded that the Onyema Affidavit “ha[d] no relevance to what occurred between 1986-1988” and “regards an incident [Alfred Sparman seen with his pants unzipped, penis exposed and Anna sitting on his lap with her underwear pulled down] three years after the crime, and does not establish the requisite clear link.” Slip op. at 8. The Appellate Division denied petitioner leave to appeal the trial court’s decision. People v. Sparman, N.Y.L.J., July 24, 1995 at 34 (2d Dept. July 17, 1995), attached as Pet.Ex. “G.” Petitioner then filed his petition for writ of habeas corpus in this Court. III. PROCEDURAL BARS TO THE INSTANT PETITION Sprinkled throughout respondent’s papers are assertions that it would be “unfair” to consider many of petitioner’s exhibits, that petitioner has failed to exhaust his state court remedies and that this Court is procedurally barred on independent and adequate state grounds from considering many of petitioner’s arguments. See Resp. Mem. at 2 n. 1; 6, n. 2; 17-19; 36; 44 n. 23. Respondent’s assertions are meritless. Initially, respondent argues that it would be “unfair and inappropriate” for this Court to consider petitioner’s Exhibits L through X because they were not admitted at petitioner’s trial and therefore have not been “tested” by cross examination. Resp. Mem. at 2 n. 1. These exhibits include the Onyema Affidavit, petitioner’s own affidavit, the medical records of Anna Sparman from the 1989-1990 period and police reports following the twins’ examination in July 1991. In making this argument, respondent appears to be under the mistaken impression that in filing a federal habeas corpus petition a petitioner may only submit evidence that has been presented to the trial court. Rather, it is axiomatic that in a federal habeas corpus petition a petitioner may present any evidence or arguments that have been “fairly-presented” to an appropriate state court so long as petitioner has exhausted all available state judicial remedies. Rose v. Lundy, 455 U.S. 509, 510-522, 102 S.Ct. 1198, 71 L.Ed.2d 879 (1982); Picard v. Connor, 404 U.S. 270, 275, 92 S.Ct. 509, 30 L.Ed.2d 438 (1971). “In order to have 'fairly presented’ federal claims to the state court, the petitioner must have informed the state court of both the factual and legal premises of claims asserted in the federal petition.” Udzinski v. Kelly, 734 F.Supp. 76, 79 (E.D.N.Y.1990) (citing Twitty v. Smith, 614 F.2d 325 (2d Cir.1979)). See also Anderson v. Casscles, 531 F.2d 682, 684 (2d Cir.1976). Here, it is uncontested that the Onyema Affidavit, petitioner’s Affidavit, the twins’ medical records, the excerpted medical literature and the police records were presented as part of petitioner’s initial direct appeal from the conviction or in his later motion before the trial court to vacate that conviction. Resp. Mem. at 2, n. 1. Since the applicable New York courts have denied further leave to appeal from the appellate and trial courts’ decisions affirming the judgment of conviction, People v. Sparman, 84 N.Y.2d 833, 617 N.Y.S.2d 153, 641 N.E.2d 174 (1994) (re: appeal from Appellate Division affirmance of judgment of conviction); People v. Sparman, No. 95-04308, N.Y.L.J., July 24, 1995 at 34 (2d Dept. July 17, 1995) (re: appeal from trial court’s denial of petitioner’s post-trial motion to vacate his conviction), petitioner has exhausted all of his state avenues of review with regard to these exhibits. Second, respondent asserts that this Court should not consider evidence relating to Anthony Sparman’s claim that his half-brother Alfred was the true perpetrator of the sexual abuse. Resp. Mem. at 6, n. 2; 16, 19, n. 8. Respondent maintains that specific allegations contained in petitioner’s affidavit regarding his claim that he saw Anna and Alfred leave a family celebration on Mother’s Day in 1991 and that upon their return later that day Anna looked “disheveled and uncomfortable,” Sparman Affidavit at 4-5, are proeedurally barred. The crux of respondent’s argument is that trial counsel did not object when the trial court precluded him from questioning petitioner on redirect examination about what he saw on Mother’s Day 1991. Consequently, respondent argues, New York’s contemporaneous objection rule bars petitioner’s present claim. Resp. Mem. at 19, n. 8. Respondent’s contention is unavailing. Absent a showing of cause and prejudice, failure to comply with a state rule requiring contemporaneous objections will act as an independent and adequate state ground barring federal habeas corpus review. Wainwright v. Sykes, 433 U.S. 72, 86, 97 S.Ct. 2497, 53 L.Ed.2d 594 (1977); Velasquez v. Leonardo, 898 F.2d 7, 9 (2d Cir.1990); Narayan v. Scully, 741 F.Supp. 377, 380 (E.D.N.Y.1990) (Glasser, J.), aff'd, 927 F.2d 594 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 809, 112 S.Ct. 53, 116 L.Ed.2d 30 (1991). However, a finding of ineffective assistance of counsel is sufficient cause for failure to raise an objection at trial. Murray v. Carrier, 477 U.S. 478, 488, 106 S.Ct. 2639, 91 L.Ed.2d 397 (1986); Bossett v. Walker, 41 F.3d 825, 829 (2d Cir.1994), cert. denied, 514 U.S. 1054, 115 S.Ct. 1436, 131 L.Ed.2d 316, 63 USLW 3721 (1995). As this Court finds that petitioner’s trial counsel was ineffective and that petitioner was prejudiced by this ineffectiveness, see Section LV-A, infra, petitioner’s claims on this point are not proeedurally barred. However, even if a state procedural bar existed by virtue of trial counsel’s failure to make a contemporaneous objection, the Appellate Division chose to ignore that bar. In such a circumstance, there is “no warrant ... for guarding state procedural rules more vigilantly than the state itself does.” Ra mirez v. Jones, 683 F.2d 712, 715 (2d Cir.1982) (quoting Washington v. Harris, 650 F.2d 447, 452 (2d Cir.1981), cert. denied, 455 U.S. 951, 102 S.Ct. 1455, 71 L.Ed.2d 666 (1982)). Therefore, the issue of what petitioner saw on Mother’s Day 1991 is properly before this Court. Third, respondent also contends that this Court is proeedurally barred from considering petitioner’s claims regarding the prosecutor’s summation. Resp. Mem. at 36. As noted earlier, a finding of ineffective assistance of counsel is sufficient cause for failure to raise an objection at trial. Murray, 477 U.S. at 488, 106 S.Ct. 2639; Bossett, 41 F.3d at 829. In order to overcome a procedural bar, however, petitioner must also demonstrate that the prosecutorial remarks were so prejudicial that they rendered the trial fundamentally unfair. Donnelly v. DeChristoforo, 416 U.S. 637, 642, 94 S.Ct. 1868, 40 L.Ed.2d 431 (1974); Garofolo v. Coomb, 804 F.2d 201, 206 (2d Cir.1986). This Court cannot find that petitioner was prejudiced by the prosecutor’s comments to warrant a finding that the petitioner’s constitutional rights were violated. Although, as discussed below, the petitioner’s trial fell below constitutional standards in several respects, the prosecutor’s summation did not render his trial fundamentally unfair. The prosecutor’s comments regarding her beliefs and the credibility of some of the witnesses, although improper, were relatively transitory and brief. As petitioner has exhausted all of his claims and no procedural bar exists to the consideration of petitioner’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim and his claim concerning the trial court’s key evidentiary ruling on “clear link,” this Court will now consider the merits of those claims. IV. DISCUSSION A. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Petitioner claims that his trial counsel was grossly ineffective because, inter alia, he did not (1) make evidentiary use of Anna’s medical reports from 1989 and 1990, which failed to show any signs of abuse; (2) cross-examine the twins regarding inconsistent statements they made concerning the time period during which they were abused; (3) use expert medical literature or witnesses who would have bolstered Dr. Nadig’s testimony and undermined Dr. Baker’s testimony; or, (4) adequately prepare for trial and investigate and pursue potential witnesses such as identifying and using Marie Onyema as a key defense witness clearly linking Alfred Spar-man to the very crimes charged against petitioner. Pet. Mem. at 38-51. For reasons set forth below, this Court finds that petitioner’s trial counsel fell far short of the standards that the Constitution mandates and that this ineffectiveness severely prejudiced petitioner and produced an unconstitutional verdict. “An accused’s right to be represented by counsel is a fundamental component of our criminal justice system.” Quartararo v. Fogg, 679 F.Supp. 212, 239 (E.D.N.Y.) (Forman, J.) (quoting United States v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648, 653, 104 S.Ct. 2039, 80 L.Ed.2d 657 (1984)), aff'd, 849 F.2d 1467 (2d Cir.1988). Despite the central and crucial role that an attorney plays in a criminal trial, a petitioner asserting that his counsel was ineffective has a “highly demanding” burden and must overcome the “strong presumption that counsel’s performance fell within the “wide range’ of professional assistance.” Kimmelman v. Morrison, 477 U.S. 365, 382, 106 S.Ct. 2574, 91 L.Ed.2d 305 (1986) (quoting Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 689, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984)). This burden requires a petitioner to show that (1) counsel was “deficient,” meaning that he made “errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the ‘counsel’ guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment, and (2) the deficient performance prejudiced the defense.” Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). A petitioner “shows that he was prejudiced by his attorney’s ineffectiveness by demonstrating that ‘there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different.’ ” Kimmelman, 477 U.S. at 381, 106 S.Ct. 2574 (quoting Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052). In short, petitioner must demonstrate that counsel’s errors were so serious as to deprive him of a fair trial, a trial whose result is reliable. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052. State court decisions regarding the ineffective assistance of counsel are mixed questions of law and fact. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 698, 104 S.Ct. 2052 (“[I]n a federal habeas challenge to a state criminal judgment, a state court conclusion that counsel rendered effective assistance is not a finding of fact binding on the federal court to the extent stated by 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)”). Although the ultimate issue of the adequacy of the representation is reviewed de novo by a federal court, id.; Winkler v. Keane, 7 F.3d 304, 308 (2d Cir.1993), cert. denied, 511 U.S. 1022, 114 S.Ct. 1407, 128 L.Ed.2d 79, 62 USLW 3658 (1994), the underlying factual findings upon which the state court reached its conclusion, such as whether or not counsel made an informed tactical or strategic decision not to call a particular witness, is a question of fact that is entitled to deference under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(8). Demosthenes v. Baal, 495 U.S. 731, 735, 110 S.Ct. 2223, 109 L.Ed.2d 762 (1990). Notwithstanding such deference, however, a federal court may reach a different factual conclusion from the state court where the state court’s ruling is not supported by the record. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(8); Demosthenes, 495 U.S. at 735, 110 S.Ct. 2223. While a petitioner must overcome “the presumption that, under the circumstances, the challenged action ‘might be considered sound trial strategy,’ ” Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689, 104 S.Ct. 2052 (quoting Michel v. Louisiana, 350 U.S. 91, 101, 76 S.Ct. 158, 100 L.Ed. 83 (1955)), “not all strategic choices are sacrosanct. Merely labeling [counsel’s] errors ‘strategy’ does not shield his trial performance from Sixth Amendment scrutiny.” Quartararo, 679 F.Supp. at 247; Henry v. Scully, 918 F.Supp. 693, 715 (S.D.N.Y.1995) (finding “no possible strategy” that could have justified defense counsel in allowing codefendant’s confession to be used against petitioner at trial), aff'd, 78 F.3d 51, (2d Cir.1996). Such is the case here. Even upon applying these rigorous standards to the case at bar, this Court finds that petitioner’s counsel at trial was grossly ineffective and that this ineffectiveness severely prejudiced petitioner. This conclusion is supported by the record at trial, the nature of the evidence presented against petitioner at trial and the evidence petitioner’s trial counsel failed to present at trial. 1. Failure to Introduce Exculpatory Medical Evidence Perhaps the most glaring example of trial counsel’s ineffectiveness was his failure to call the doctors who examined Anna Spar-man in 1989-90 or to introduce those medical reports into evidence. As noted above, two of those exams, conducted in January and November 1990, included vaginal checks and the January 1990 exam included a vaginal swab test. Neither examination revealed any physical symptoms of sexual abuse nor noted any of the abrasions, redness or swelling observed by Dr. Baker in July 1991. These examinations are critical because they were conducted nine and nineteen months after petitioner had moved out of his half-brother’s home and after the last charged crime. Thus, these medical reports, if presented at trial by petitioner’s counsel, would have helped establish that physical examinations conducted after petitioner’s last significant contact with the twins did not note any signs of abuse. Moreover, the examinations were obviously conducted well before Dr. Baker’s July 1991 examination which revealed, among other things, vaginal redness and swelling and hymenal interruptions. Therefore, these reports offered potentially crucial support to petitioner’s defense. The Supreme Court has observed that “[a] single, serious error” can support a claim of ineffectiveness of counsel. Kimmelman, 477 U.S. 365, 383, 106 S.Ct. 2574, 91 L.Ed.2d 305 (1986) (citing Cronic, 466 U.S. 648, 657 n. 20, 104 S.Ct. 2039, 80 L.Ed.2d 657 (1984)). See Mason v. Scully, 16 F.3d 38, 43 (2d Cir.1994) (failure to object to hearsay statements of non-testifying co-defendant constituted ineffective assistance of counsel); Henry v. Scully, 918 F.Supp. at 713-14 (S.D.N.Y.1995) (failure to object to co-defendant’s confession implicating defendant constituted ineffective assistance of counsel), aff'd, 78 F.3d 51 (2d Cir.1996); DeLuca v. Lord, 858 F.Supp. 1330, 1346-47 (S.D.N.Y.1994) (defense counsel’s failure to pursue option of presenting extreme emotional distress defense constituted ineffective assistance of counsel), aff'd, 77 F.3d 578 (2d Cir.1996). See also Grady v. Artuz, 931 F.Supp. 1048, 1996 WL 346332 (S.D.N.Y. June 24, 1996) (failure to raise on direct appeal claims that indictment was duplicitous constituted ineffective assistance of counsel). Many courts have found that the failure to introduce favorable medical testimony can constitute ineffective assistance of counsel. For example, on facts similar to the case at bar, an Illinois district court in Williams v. Washington, 863 F.Supp. 697, 704 (N.D.Ill.1994), aff'd, 59 F.3d 673 (7th Cir.1995), granted a habeas corpus petition. In Williams, the petitioner was convicted for indecent liberties with her adopted daughter. The conviction stemmed from the victim’s June 1985 allegation that petitioner and her husband had sexually molested her in April 1984. Id. 863 F.Supp. at 700. Aside from not presenting evidence that no one heard an outcry despite the fact that several other people lived in petitioner’s home and that the alleged victim had several inconsistencies in her story, defense counsel failed to present medical records indicating that no rape occurred. Id. at 705-07. Based on these and other failures, the district court granted the petition on ineffective assistance grounds. See also Foster v. Lockhart, 9 F.3d 722, 726-27 (8th Cir.1993) (failure of defense counsel to investigate, develop and present strong defense of impotency amounted to ineffective assistance of counsel); Loyd v. Whitley, 977 F.2d 149, 158 (5th Cir.1992) (failure of counsel to pursue independent psychological evaluation of defendant constituted ineffective assistance of counsel), cert. denied, 508 U.S. 911, 113 S.Ct. 2343, 124 L.Ed.2d 253 (1993). In this case, in denying petitioner’s Section 440 motion, the trial court concluded that Anna’s four medical examinations “do not indicate that any findings were made as to the condition of the victims’ vaginas or hymens” and that “[tjrial counsel’s decision not to introduce these post-1988 records or call experts who would be far less effective than Dr. Nadig ... amounts to a legitimate trial strategy and will not be second-guessed.” Pet. Ex. “E” at 7. This Court cannot agree with the trial court despite the deference to which the state court’s finding is entitled. According to the prosecution and the twins, petitioner, a huge (six feet four inch, 250 pound) adult male, repeatedly raped the six to eight year old twins on almost a daily basis for two years, from 1986 to 1988. It is further asserted that these rapes produced visible physical trauma that lasted at least three years until Dr. Baker’s July 1991 examination. Yet, in four examinations conducted after the cessation of the rapes but before the July. 1991 examination, one of which included a vaginal swab, the treating physician did not record my signs of sexual abuse on Anna. Contrary to the state court’s conclusion, the absence of an entry in the medical records recording abuse lends support to the proposition that the doctor did not see any signs of abuse. As a matter of common sense, if the doctor did not observe any signs of sexual abuse, the treating physician would have had no reason to record the condition of Anna’s vagina and hymen. Indeed, given the fact that in 1990 Anna was 10 years old and had allegedly been sexually abused constantly by a very large adult male for a two year period from 1986 to 1988, it is unreasonable to conclude that failure to introduce a physical examination that did not report any signs of abuse, conducted by a physician who, the State concedes, is under an obligation to report child abuse (Tr. at 396); Transcript of Oral Argument, May 23, 1996, at 42 (hereinafter “Oral Arg.”), was merely a strategic decision by trial counsel. That defense counsel’s failure to introduce evidence of these examinations was not a matter of strategy and, in fact, severely prejudiced petitioner, is even more apparent when one considers the prosecution’s evidence against petitioner at trial. In rendering their guilty verdict, the jury clearly chose to credit the testimony of Dr. Baker and discount the evidence offered through Dr. Nadig. Dr. Baker testified that during his thorough exam of the girls’ genitalia he saw definite physical signs of sexual abuse on both girls. Dr. Nadig, however, testified that her examination was not as thorough as Dr. Baker’s and, in fact, consisted of pulling the girls’ underwear aside and doing a visual examination of the girls’ vaginas. Although Dr. Nadig’s exam did not reveal any signs of sexual abuse and, arguably, may have been sufficient on its own to raise a reasonable doubt concerning