Swan

When the crime is child sexual abuse, one of the more difficult to detect and prosecute, a conviction hinges often on the words of children. What makes this case troubling is that the children did not testify at trial. On the basis of hearsay statements, supported by minimal corroborating evidence at best, a state jury convicted William and Kathleen Swan of sexually abusing their three-year-old daughter and her friend. The Swans have exhausted their state court remedies and appeal the district court’s denial of their habeas corpus petition.

Our main issue is whether admission of the children’s hearsay statements violated the Swan’s Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause rights. The Swans also argue that the state withheld information that a key reporting witness had once been sexually abused, that newly discovered medical evidence indicated that their daughter was not molested and that they received ineffective assistance of counsel. We affirm the dismissal of the habeas petition.

I. BACKGROUND

The sexual abuse charges stemmed from statements made by the Swans’ daughter, B.A., and her three-year-old friend, R.T., to day-care center workers. The two children attended a day-care…