NCJ Number
133401
Journal
National Center for the Prosecution of Child Abuse Monograph Issue: 2 Dated: special issue (March 1987)
Date Published
1987
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Many States have enacted special statutory hearsay exceptions authorizing a child victim's out-of-court statement about abuse as substantive evidence at trial.
Abstract
Both practical and legal considerations have necessitated the creation of a special statutory hearsay exception for young child abuse victims. There are seldom eyewitnesses to acts of child abuse, and other evidence corroborating a child victim's allegation is often absent. In child sexual abuse cases, for example, conclusive medical evidence is often lacking and a child's out-of-court statement if that statement is offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted in the statement. However, prosecutors often successfully offer a child victim's out-of-court statement as substantive evidence under various hearsay exceptions: spontaneous exclamations, statements made to physicians for purposes of diagnosis or treatment, statements of present sense impressions or bodily symptoms, and residual or catch-all hearsay exceptions. Although the special hearsay exception for a child victim's statement creates a statutory vehicle for admitting a statement at trial, admission of the statement must not violate the criminal defendant's sixth amendment confrontation rights. The primary confrontation problem posed by hearsay evidence occurs when the hearsay declarant does not testify at trial. The availability or competency of child witnesses to testify is discussed as well as factors to consider in assessing the credibility or trustworthiness of a child witness and the corroboration of evidence presented by the statement of an unavailable witness. 34 footnotes