Bays v. Texas (Original)
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"Anne" was six years old at the time of an incident with appellant, her step-grandfather. Anne and her young relatives, Emily and Charlotte, were watching television with appellant in his living room. While Charlotte and Emily sat across the room from them, appellant touched Anne's genitals as she sat on his lap. When she pushed his hand away, he restrained Anne so that she could not leave. Charlotte started yelling, "He won't let her go, he won't let her go." The commotion was heard by several adults who were outside of the house, including appellant's wife, who is also Anne's grandmother, and Anne's parents. Appellant was charged with indecency with a child by contact and he pleaded not guilty. The case was tried to the bench along with other accusations of sexual abuse committed against Emily and Charlotte. At trial, the State called a designated outcry witness and offered a 30-minute videotape of Anne's interview. Over appellant's hearsay objection, the trial court admitted the recording in its entirety, and it was played for the court. The outcry witness did not testify about any of Anne's statements; the sole evidence of the statements Anne made to the witness was the videotape of the interview. On the State's petition for discretionary review, the Supreme Court held that Article 38.072 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure (the outcry statute) is a hearsay exception statutorily limited to live testimony of the outcry witness. The child-complainant's own videotaped statement did not meet the requirements for being admitted under that statute. Because the trial court impermissibly admitted the child's videotaped statement under the outcry statute, the Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeals's judgment reversing appellant's conviction.
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