United States v. Thompson

Opinion of the Court

COX, Judge:

This case calls upon us to decide:

WHETHER APPELLANT WAS DENIED HIS CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO CONFRONT THE WITNESSES AGAINST HIM WHEN THE CHILD WITNESSES WERE PERMITTED, AT TRIAL, TO TESTIFY AGAINST APPELLANT WITH THEIR BACKS TO HIM.

Appellant, a sergeant in the United States Air Force, was convicted of sexually abusing his two stepsons.1 Specifically, he sodomized the two boys, M and F, ages 7 and 10 respectively, by frequent anal intercourse and by requiring the boys to commit *169fellatio, on numerous occasions from September 1984 until September 1985. He was also…