People v. Vigil
Colorado Supreme Court
127 P.3d 916 (2006)
Seven-year-old JW disclosed to his father Brett Brown and family friend John Kohl that Vigil (defendant) had sodomized him, moments after Brown discovered Vigil and the boy partially undressed together; a hospital doctor examining JW asked where he hurt, and JW's answer led to a medical exam that found semen. JW did not testify at Vigil's trial, but the court admitted his statements to his father, Kohl, and the doctor, and Vigil was convicted of sexual assault; the court of appeals reversed based on the doctor's-statement admission, and the Colorado Supreme Court granted review.
Whether a defendant's confrontation rights are violated by admitting a young sexual-assault victim's out-of-court statements to a treating doctor, the child's father, and a family friend when the child does not testify at trial.