United States v. Morgan

Opinion of the Court

COX, Judge:

This is yet another case in which a military accused is convicted based upon out-of-court declarations of the witnesses against him. The four hearsay statements admitted into evidence arise out of allegations by the victim (appellant’s 13-year-old stepdaughter whom we will call Ann — not her real name) that she was raped by appellant, her stepfather.1

*407FACTS

On December 28, 1990, at approximately 1:37 p.m., Ann ran over to the house of her neighbor, Mrs. Vera Riedesel. Seeing that Ann “was very upset.” Mrs. Riedesel invited her into her home. Upon questioning the…