Washington § 9A.44.120 - Admissibility of child's statement — Conditions.

(1) A statement not otherwise admissible by statute or court rule, is admissible in evidence in dependency proceedings under Title 13 RCW and criminal proceedings, including juvenile offense adjudications, in the courts of the state of Washington if:

(a)(i) It is made by a child when under the age of ten describing any act of sexual contact performed with or on the child by another, describing any attempted act of sexual contact with or on the child by another, or describing any act of physical abuse of the child by another that results in substantial bodily harm as defined by RCW 9A.04.110; or

(ii) It is made by a child when under the age of 18 describing any of the following acts or attempted acts performed with or on the child: Trafficking under RCW 9A.40.100; commercial sexual abuse of a minor under RCW 9.68A.100; promoting commercial sexual abuse of a minor under RCW 9.68A.101; or promoting travel for commercial sexual abuse of a minor under RCW 9.68A.102;

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

(c) The child either:

(i) Testifies at the proceedings; or

(ii) Is unavailable as a witness, except that when the child is unavailable as a witness, such statement may be admitted only if there is corroborative evidence of the act.

(2) A statement may not be admitted under this section unless the proponent of the statement makes known to the adverse party his or her intention to offer the statement and the particulars of the statement sufficiently in advance of the proceedings to provide the adverse party with a fair opportunity to prepare to meet the statement.

Effective date—2024 c 298: See note following RCW 9A.40.100.

Severability—1982 c 129: See note following RCW 9A.04.080.