Eccleston

Evidence Code section 1360 establishes a procedure whereby evidence of a statement made by a victim under the age of 12 that would otherwise be treated as hearsay may be admitted in criminal prosecutions for specified sex offenses if (among other requirements) the trial court determines that “the time, content, and circumstances of the statement provide sufficient indicia of reliability.” The issue presented here is whether evidence admitted in accordance with this statutory procedure violates the accused’s rights to confront and cross-examine .the witnesses against him. We hold that there is no constitutional violation.

Background

A jury found defendant David John Eccleston guilty of the felonies of oral copulation with a child under the age of 14 (Pen. Code, § 288a, subd. (c)(1)), lewd conduct with a child (Pen. Code, § 288, subd. (a)), and the misdemeanor of annoying a child (Pen. Code, § 647.6). The trial court found true an allegation that defendant had a Nevada conviction that would constitute lewd conduct with a child (Pen. Code, § 288, subd. (a)) if committed in this state and that qualified as a serious felony for purposes of the three strikes law and other…