§ 13-25-129. Statements of child victim of unlawful sexual offense against a child or of child abuse - hearsay exception

CO Rev Stat § 13-25-129 (2018) (N/A)
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(1) An out-of-court statement made by a child, as child is defined under the statutes which are the subject of the action, describing any act or attempted act of sexual contact, intrusion, or penetration, as defined in section 18-3-401, C.R.S., performed or attempted to be performed with, by, on, or in the presence of the child declarant, not otherwise admissible by a statute or court rule which provides an exception to the objection of hearsay, is admissible in evidence in any criminal, delinquency, or civil proceedings in which a child is a victim of an unlawful sexual offense, as defined in section 18-3-411 (1), C.R.S., or is a victim of incest or attempted incest, as defined in section 18-6-301, C.R.S., when the victim was less than fifteen years of age at the time of the commission of the offense, or in which a child is the subject of a proceeding alleging that a child is neglected or dependent under section 19-1-104 (1)(b), C.R.S., and an out-of-court statement by a child, as child is defined under the statutes which are the subject of the action, describing any act of child abuse, as defined in section 18-6-401, C.R.S., to which the child declarant was subjected or which the child declarant witnessed, not otherwise admissible by a statute or court rule which provides an exception to the objection of hearsay, is admissible in evidence in any criminal, delinquency, or civil proceedings in which a child is a victim of child abuse or the subject of a proceeding alleging that a child is neglected or dependent under section 19-1-104 (1)(b), C.R.S., and an out-of-court statement made by a person under thirteen years of age describing all or part of an offense contained in part 1 of article 3 of title18, C.R.S., or describing an act of domestic violence as defined in section 18-6-800.3 (1), C.R.S., not otherwise admissible by statute or court rule which provides an exception to the objection of hearsay is admissible in evidence in any criminal, delinquency, or civil proceeding, if:

(a) The court finds in a hearing conducted outside the presence of the jury that the time, content, and circumstances of the statement provide sufficient safeguards of reliability; and

(b) The child either:

(I) Testifies at the proceedings; or

(II) Is unavailable as a witness and there is corroborative evidence of the act which is the subject of the statement.

(2) If a statement is admitted pursuant to this section, the court shall instruct the jury in the final written instructions that during the proceeding the jury heard evidence repeating a child's out-of-court statement and that it is for the jury to determine the weight and credit to be given the statement and that, in making the determination, the jury shall consider the age and maturity of the child, the nature of the statement, the circumstances under which the statement was made, and any other relevant factor.

(3) The proponent of the statement shall give the adverse party reasonable notice of his intention to offer the statement and the particulars of the statement.