criminal-law children child-abuse
Child Sexual abuse - can you jail person just based on what child said?
<p>I heard this case and got interested.
Relative of my acquintance got jailed because of child sexual abuse (child aged 8-9).</p>
<p>But here is what confuses me. There is no proof whatsoever about this, no facts,
or witnesses.</p>
<p><strong>Just what the child said to the psychologist.</strong> My question is can just the
fact what child said to psychologist enough to jail person for years?
How is the practice in world about this?</p>
<p><strong>For me this just doesn't make sense and I am also asking out of curiosity.</strong></p>
<p>It is in Caucasus Region.</p>

<blockquote>
<p>Child Sexual abuse - can you jail person just based on what child
said?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Under U.S. law, yes.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There is no proof whatsoever about this, no facts, or witnesses</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Testimony of a witness is evidence.</p>
<p>There is a witness, the child, and another witness, the psychologist, who heard the child and testified. Those are facts and witnesses.</p>
<p>Assuming that an exception to the hearsay rule and confrontation clause can be secured (which it certainly can for purposes of a probable cause determination to make an arrest and sometimes can and sometimes can't for purposes of a conviction), what the child said can be presented through the psychologist, which is admissible evidence.</p>
<p>The fact that something was said by a child does not make it not evidence, nor does it make it inadmissible. The rules governing when hearsay is admissible as evidence are arcane at best and very circumstance dependent.</p>
<p>A jury can choose to believe that any particular item of evidence is sufficiently credible to constitute proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Credibility and weight are for a jury, not for the judge and not for an appellate court.</p>
