CHILD’S OUT OF COURT STATEMENTS ABOUT ABUSE BY STEPFATHER SUFFICIENTLY CORROBORATED (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, in a custody proceeding, determined out of court statements by a child about abuse by the stepfather were properly deemed admissible because they were sufficiently corroborated:

… [T]he older child’s out-of-court statements concerning the sexual abuse perpetrated upon her by the stepfather did not constitute impermissible hearsay. Where, as here, a child’s out-of-court statements relate to abuse or neglect, such statements are admissible in a Family Ct Act article 6 proceeding so long as they are sufficiently corroborated … . “The relatively low degree of required corroboration may be provided by ‘[a]ny other evidence tending to support the reliability of the [child’s] statements'”… . While the mere repetition of an accusation does not, by itself, provide sufficient corroboration … , “some degree of corroboration can be found in the consistency of the out-of-court repetitions” … . Proof of the abuse of another child can also provide the requisite corroboration … . The sufficiency and “reliability of the corroboration, as well as issues of credibility, are matters entrusted to the sound discretion of Family Court and will not be disturbed unless clearly unsupported by the record” … .​

The maternal aunt testified that, while babysitting the children … , the older child disclosed that the stepfather comes into her room in the middle of the night and “touches in [her] butt.” The child also revealed the sexual abuse to the father, specifically stating that, while she was locked in her room, the stepfather would pull back the covers and reach into her underwear. The maternal aunt described changes in the older child’s behavior that coincided with the time frame in which the alleged sexual abuse occurred, explaining that the child, who used to be happy and playful, became “unsociable” and “scared,” as if something was bothering her. A therapist whom the older child began seeing following the disclosures testified that the child was “very distant,” “detached” and “withdrawn” during their interactions and opined that the child exhibited behavior that was consistent with that of a four-year-old who may have experienced trauma. Further, a woman whose father had previously lived with the stepfather provided detailed and graphic testimony of her own sexual abuse at the hands of the stepfather when she was a young girl. During interviews with the State Police, both this woman as well as her sister confirmed that they had been sexually abused by the stepfather when they were younger. In view of this proof, and according due deference to Family Court’s factual findings and credibility assessments, we conclude that the older child’s statements were adequately corroborated … . Matter of Cory O. v Katie P., 2018 NY Slip Op 04046, Third Dept 6-7-18

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