Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/boundvolumes/529bv.pdf
Page Number: 592.0

529US2

Unit: $U52

[09-26-01 10:36:40] PAGES PGT: OPIN

Cite as: 529 U. S. 513 (2000)

517

Opinion of the Court

For each of the other 13 offenses (5 counts of sexual assault
and 8 counts of indecency with a child), petitioner received
concurrent sentences of 20 years.

Until September 1, 1993, the following statute was in ef-

fect in Texas:

“A conviction under Chapter 21, Section 22.011, or
Section 22.021, Penal Code, is supportable on the un-
corroborated testimony of the victim of the sexual of-
fense if the victim informed any person, other than
the defendant, of the alleged offense within six months
after the date on which the offense is alleged to have
occurred. The requirement that the victim inform an-
other person of an alleged offense does not apply if the
victim was younger than 14 years of age at the time of
the alleged offense.” Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann., Art.
38.07 (Vernon 1983).1

We emphasize three features of this law that are critical to
petitioner’s case.

The ﬁrst is the so-called “outcry or corroboration” require-
ment. Under that provision, a victim’s testimony can sup-
port a conviction for the speciﬁed offenses only if (1) that
testimony is corroborated by other evidence, or (2) the victim
informed another person of the offense within six months
of its occurrence (an “outcry”). The second feature is the
“child victim” provision, which is an exception to the outcry
or corroboration requirement. According to this provision,
if the victim was under 14 years old at the time of the alleged
offense, the outcry or corroboration requirement does not
apply and the victim’s testimony alone can support a con-
viction—even without any corroborating evidence or outcry.
The third feature is that Article 38.07 establishes a sufﬁ-

1 The chapter and sections to which this statute refers cover all the
charges contained in the 15-count indictment against petitioner. Chapter
21 includes the offense of indecency with a child; § 22.011 covers sexual
assault; § 22.021 criminalizes aggravated sexual assault.