United States v. Jennings

Jennings (defendant), 24, sat next to Casey, an unaccompanied 13-year-old, on an overnight flight. A passenger saw Jennings leaning close to Casey and alerted a flight attendant, who moved him. Minutes later Casey, visibly shocked and confused, told another passenger that Jennings had repeatedly groped her and frightened her into silence. After landing, Casey burst into tears when Jennings spoke to her and repeated the accusation to the first passenger. The jury convicted Jennings of abusive sexual contact with a minor, and he appealed the admission of both passengers' hearsay testimony under the excited-utterance exception.