Alston v. United States

MACK, Associate Judge:

Following a jury trial, appellant was convicted of assault with intent to commit carnal knowledge in violation of D.C.Code § 22-501 (1981). Appellant asserts that testimony of three government witnesses as to statements made by the victim, appellant’s four-year-old step-daughter, were improperly classified as spontaneous utterances and erroneously admitted under that exception to the hearsay rule. 1 We find that the challenged statements do not constitute spontaneous utterances. Since we cannot say that their admission did not substantially sway the judgment of the jury…