An Act To Protect Child Victims of Sexual Abuse
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 0275
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: EDGECOMB, PLOWMAN, HARLOW, LANSLEY

Legislative Document 
No. 275 
H.P.209 
House of Representatives, January 18,2007 
An Act To Protect Child Victims of Sexual Abuse 
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative EDGECOMB of Caribou. 
Cosponsored by Senator PLOWMAN of Penobscot and 
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MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: HARLOW of Portland, LANSLEY of Sabattus, McFADDEN of Dennysville. 
Printed on recyc led paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 15 MRS A §1205, sub-§2, as repealed and replaced by PL 1985, c. 495, 
§ 1, is amended to read: 
2. Examination and cross-examination. Pursuant to order of court made on such a 
motion, the statement is made under oath, subjeet to all of the rights of eonfrontation 
seeured to an aeeused by the Constitution of Maine or the United States Constitution ana 
the statement has been reeorded b~' any means appro¥ed by the eourt, and is made in the 
presenee ofajudge orjustiee. ~ 
A. When the statement is testimonial, the statement is made under oath, subject to all 
rights of confrontation secured to an accused by the Constitution of Maine or the 
United States Constitution and the statement has been recorded by any means 
approved by the court and is made in the presence of a judge or justice; or 
B. When the statement is not testimonial, the statement was made ih circumstances 
having sufficient guarantees of trustworthiness, the person to whom the statement 
was made testifies in open court and the person to whom the statement was made is 
subject to all the rights of confrontation secured to an accused by the Constitution of 
Maine or the United States Constitution. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the law concerning the admissibility of out-of-court statements by 
certain victims of sexual assault in criminal prosecutions. This bill is consistent with the 
most recent United States Supreme Court decisions concerning the admissibility of 
nontestimonial statements: Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004) and Davis v. 
Washington, No. 05-5224 (June 19,2006). 
This bill allows the admission of statements made by the victim to another person 
when the statements are not considered testimonial. The bill allows the person to whom 
the statement was made to repeat the statement in testimony in open court ifthe statement 
was made in circumstances having sufficient guarantees of trustworthiness, and the 
person testifying can be confronted and cross-examined as required under the 
Constitution of Maine or the United States Constitution. 
This will allow a child's 
therapist, for example, to whom the child disclosed the conduct to testify in court about 
the child's statement about that conduct, and the statement can be admitted as allowable 
hearsay. The therapist must be subject to cross-examination and all other rights secured 
3.3 
to the accused. This bill applies to statements made by a victim who has a developmental 
disability as well as to children under 16 years of age. Whether the circumstances have 
sufficient guarantees of trustworthiness is determined by the facts of each case.