Section 1360 Of Article 16. Statements By Children Under The Age Of 12 In Child Neglect And Abuse Proceedings From California Evidence Code >> Division 10. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 16.
1360
. (a) In a criminal prosecution where the victim is a minor, a
statement made by the victim when under the age of 12 describing any
act of child abuse or neglect performed with or on the child by
another, or describing any attempted act of child abuse or neglect
with or on the child by another, is not made inadmissible by the
hearsay rule if all of the following apply:
(1) The statement is not otherwise admissible by statute or court
rule.
(2) The court finds, in a hearing conducted outside the presence
of the jury, that the time, content, and circumstances of the
statement provide sufficient indicia of reliability.
(3) The child either:
(A) Testifies at the proceedings.
(B) Is unavailable as a witness, in which case the statement may
be admitted only if there is evidence of the child abuse or neglect
that corroborates the statement made by the child.
(b) A statement may not be admitted under this section unless the
proponent of the statement makes known to the adverse party the
intention to offer the statement and the particulars of the statement
sufficiently in advance of the proceedings in order to provide the
adverse party with a fair opportunity to prepare to meet the
statement.
(c) For purposes of this section, "child abuse" means an act
proscribed by Section 273a, 273d, or 288.5 of the Penal Code, or any
of the acts described in Section 11165.1 of the Penal Code, and
"child neglect" means any of the acts described in Section 11165.2 of
the Penal Code.