MADISON — A psychiatrist who treated the now deceased daughter of Dale Matteson told the jury Tuesday that the 17-year-old reported that her suicidal ideations stemmed from her father’s alleged sexual abuse.
Several witnesses gave testimony on the emotional second day of Matteson’s jury trial, for which the panel is tasked with deciding if Matteson is guilty of child abuse resulting in death.
Among the testimonies given Tuesday was that of Jessica Sawyer, a family psychiatric practitioner at Richard Young Hospital in Kearney.
Sawyer, who has been employed at Richard Young since 2011, primarily treats adolescents who are suffering from suicidal ideations. She estimated that Richard Young Hospital admits more than a dozen patients each week who suffer from suicidal ideations.
Sawyer said Tuesday that one of the patients she treated, on multiple occasions, was Matteson’s then 15-year-old daughter.
Matteson’s daughter had checked into the hospital on both Feb. 11, 2017, and Sept. 6, 2019, less than two weeks before her suicide.
According to Sawyer, Matteson’s daughter was determined to be “acutely suicidal” upon each of her admissions to Richard Young. Acutely suicidal patients are placed into emergency protective custody for 36 hours at Richard Young, Sawyer said.
Matteson’s daughter was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
During treatment, Matteson’s daughter identified a sexual trauma that she had endured as the reasoning for her depression. The victim told psychiatrists that her father, Dale Matteson, was the perpetrator of the sexual abuse.
“When a close family member is identified as the perpetrator, it can lead to significant difficulties in lack of trust and a lack of ability to form relationships, enhancing her depression and PTSD,” Sawyer said.
The symptoms in the victim’s diagnosis include a loss of interest in activities, loss of appetite, a physical inability to eat, insomnia, nightmares of the traumatic experience and sleeping all day, Sawyer said.
Matteson’s daughter suffered each of these symptoms, said Misti Beckner, the mother of one of the victim’s friends.
The victim had visited Beckner at her workplace a week before her suicide. Beckner described the victim at the time as “skinny,” “withdrawn” and “having a hard time” with what she had experienced with her father that July.
“She didn’t want to leave the office that day because she didn’t trust herself and she didn’t want to be alone that day,” Beckner said. “She kept telling me how much she didn’t trust herself. She kept asking why her dad would do what he did to her.”
Jessica Matteson, Matteson’s ex-wife and the victim’s mother, also testified Tuesday.
She was brought to tears on several occasions during testimony. Jessica Matteson told jurors Tuesday that her daughter had reported to her that Dale Matteson asked his daughter to sleep naked with him when she was 12 years old.
“He began to tell her that one time when she was a little girl and was sitting on her lap, she touched his penis, and that’s when he knew she was ready to have a relationship with him,” Jessica Matteson said.
Dale Matteson also stressed that sex shouldn’t be difficult, and that “if you have any urges to have sex with somebody, you shouldn’t stop those urges,” Jessica Matteson said.
Matteson, who has already pleaded guilty to attempted incest, is alleged to have sexually abused more than just his daughter, according to testimony made Tuesday.
Matteson’s niece testified before the court Tuesday that her uncle had molested her while on a road trip in 2005.
At the time, Matteson worked as a truck driver and was set to make a multi-day trip to Oklahoma; he asked his niece to accompany him on the trip and received permission from her mother for her to accompany him.
During the three- to four-day trip, his niece said, she and her uncle slept in the cabin of the truck together.
One morning in particular stood out to her.
“I had been sleeping on the inside of the mattress toward the back wall. I woke up and felt a hand between my legs,” she said, holding back tears. “It was a very deep massage; I don’t know how long it lasted, but it was like time stood still.”
His niece said she reported what had happened to her mother, but her mother believed Dale Matteson’s claim that the incident was accidental.
Now serving as an Air Force sergeant in Nevada, the woman said the truck incident traumatized her and that it has contributed to a severely damaged relationship with her family.
Matteson’s niece said she had not spoken to her uncle for at least 14 years.
“There were a lot of days that I thought about going to sleep and never waking up again,” she said.
Dale Matteson didn’t show any emotion through the entirety of Tuesday’s proceedings.
Hearings Tuesday lasted about 6½ hours and were scheduled to continue Wednesday.