CT · rules

Conn. Code Evid. § 8-10

Hearsay Exception: Tender Years

activein force · 2018-02-01 – presentact-effective-date

‘‘(a) Notwithstanding any other rule of evidence

or provision of law, a statement by a child twelve

years of age or younger at the time of the state -

ment relating to a sexual offense committed

against that child, or an offense involving physical

abuse committed against that child by the child’s

parent or guardian or any other person exercising

comparable authority over the child at the time of

the offense, shall be admissible in a criminal or

juvenile proceeding if: (1) The court finds, in a

hearing conducted outside the presence of the

jury, if any, that the circumstances of the state -

ment, including its timing and content, provide

particularized guarantees of its trustworthiness,

(2) the statement was not made in preparation

for a legal proceeding, (3) the proponent of the

statement makes known to the adverse party an

intention to offer the statement and the particulars

of the statement including the content of the statement, the approximate time, date and location of

the statement, the person to whom the statement

was made and the circumstances surrounding the

statement that indicate its trustworthiness, at such

time as to provide the adverse party with a fair

opportunity to prepare to meet it, and (4) either

(A) the child testifies and is subject to cross-examination at the proceeding, or (B) the child is

unavailable as a witness and (i) there is independent nontestimonial corroborative evidence of the

alleged act, and (ii) the statement was made prior

to the defendant’s arrest or institution of juvenile

proceedings in connection with the act described

in the statement.

‘‘(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed

to (1) prevent the admission of any statement

under another hearsay exception, (2) allow

broader definitions in other hearsay exceptions

for statements made by children twelve years of

age or younger at the time of the statement con -

cerning any alleged act described in subsection

(a) of this section than is done for other declarants,

or (3) allow the admission pursuant to the residual

hearsay exception of a statement described in

subsection (a) of this section.’’ General Statutes

§ 54-86l.

History

(Adopted June 30, 2008, to take effect Jan. 1, 2009; amended June 21, 2010, to take effect Jan. 1, 2011; amended Dec. 14, 2017, to take effect Feb. 1, 2018.) COMMENTARY This section, which parallels General Statutes § 54-86 l, addresses the unique and limited area of statements made by children concerning alleged acts of sexual assault or other sexual misconduct against a child, or other alleged acts of physical abuse against the child by a parent, guardian or other person with like authority over the child at the time of the alleged act. Subsection (a) sets forth the factors that must be applied in considering the admissibility of such a statement. See, e.g., State v. Maguire, 310 Conn. 535, 565, 78 A.3d 828 (2013); State v. Griswold, 160 Conn. App. 528, 537–50, 127 A.3d 189, cert. denied, 320 Conn. 907, 128 A.3d 952 (2015).

Provenance

Source: jud.ct.gov
Retrieved: 2026-09-15
Edition: 2026-09-15
Content hash: 1d0a66c5db854b00ac652b89da6a785e60caf6b4af535abcfa283ad328d70ee2

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