State v. Seever

The defendant was convicted of sexual abuse in the first degree in subjecting H.W., a girl just turning 8, to sexual contact over a period of several months. At the outset of the trial a videotaped statement of the victim was received into evidence pursuant to § 492.304, RSMo 1986, over objection on constitutional and other grounds. The defendant appeals directly to this Court, asserting that § 492.304 violates the confrontation clause of the Sixth Amendment and the similar provision of the Missouri Constitution, Art. I, § 18(a). Other grounds of error relating to the statement are also…