I cant speak for Oklahoma criminal court, but in Florida and certain circumstances in federal criminal court, so long as the witness is available to be confronted as a witness in court, prior sworn inconsistent statements under oath can be introduced so that the fact finder, whether that be the judge, jury, or in our case, public opinion, can, but is not required to, draw an inference that the incident the person is accused of did actually occur if the persons introduces any evidence or mounts any defense that tends to negate or discount the prior inconsistent statement.
For instance, suppose On three prior occasions, I exchanged text messages with three different girls. In each of those text messages I indicated that I was at home in my bed with a bottle of Boone's Farm. I also indicated that i was sore from the previous night's game where i was the winning goalkeeper and needed a massage. Each of the three women agreed to come over. Each agreed to get in bed with me. Each agreed to give me a massage. Two of the three agreed to have sex with me afterwards, though one changed her mind about whether it was consensual the next day. The third told police it was not consensual but refused to prosecute. If there is a fourth victim, and there is a trial, and in that trial, if I attempted to negate or deny that I invited the fourth girl over by text message, offered her Boone's Farm, or asked for a massage, then the prior statements could be introduced to support the victim's story or impeach defense witnesses. You have to give notice, disclose evidence and jump through other hoops but a pattern of behavior can be used to prove the existence of a fact in a criminal trial, even if no conviction is reached.
In the Westbrook case, he has had a series of incidents involving the same woman in which violence resulted when a particular subject was discussed. He has had another violent incident with a different woman or a similar subject. So while the court presumes he is not guilty at the beginning of the trial, it does not also presume that the prior incidents did not occur simply because there was no conviction nor does the court presume the instant case is not factual simply because no conviction was found in the prior cases. The rules of evidence limit the facts that a fact finder can hear until the reliability of the evidence can be established, as well as the relevance of the evidence. In the fact pattern, whether or not three previous women accused me of doing the same thing is not relevant because it does not prove or disprove a relevant fact at issue in the present case -- until such time that I attempt to introduce evidence or a defense that I did not commit the act I am accused of because I am incapable of committing or did not commit such a crime. However, if my lawyer asks the question on cross to the fourth victim, "Did you know my client hate's Boone's Farm? Isn't it .