United States v. Leroy George

Leroy George appeals his conviction on three counts of sexual abuse. He contends that the admission of hearsay statements made by the victim to her examining physician and to a Navajo tribal investigator violated his rights under the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment. George also contends that the government improperly used impeachment testimony as substantive evidence against him and that the district court abused its discretion in denying his motion for a new trial. We affirm.

I

The indictment charged George with causing his 12-year-old stepdaughter to have sexual intercourse with him on three separate occasions in 1988. In her testimony, the victim identified George as her attacker and described the sexual attacks. She testified to the approximate date of the acts alleged in count III of the indictment. However, she was not able to recall the approximate dates of the acts alleged in counts I and II.

Dr. Ortiz-Pino examined the victim on February 22, 1989, approximately five months after the date of the last attack as alleged in the indictment. Over George’s objections, the trial court allowed Dr. Ortiz-Pino to testify to a hearsay statement identifying George as…