Testimonio de niños en juicios criminales por video

Explicación Simple

A veces, los niños pequeños no pueden hablar frente a personas que les hacen daño. Esta ley permite que testifiquen desde otra habitación, usando una cámara, para que se sientan más seguros.

Es como cuando un niño se siente nervioso en un examen y tiene que contestar las preguntas desde su salón, pero el maestro le pone una pantalla para que no vea a los otros estudiantes y se sienta más tranquilo.

Ejemplo Práctico

Imagina que una niña llamada Ana, de 8 años, ha sido víctima de abuso. En su juicio, el fiscal pide que ella testifique desde otra sala usando una cámara, para que el acusado no esté presente y Ana se sienta más cómoda hablando sobre lo que le pasó.

Texto Original del Estatuto (Inglés)

(1) On motion of the prosecuting attorney in a criminal proceeding, the court may order that a child under the age of ten may testify in a room outside the presence of the defendant and the jury while one-way closed-circuit television equipment simultaneously projects the child's testimony into another room so the defendant and the jury can watch and hear the child testify if:(a) The testimony will:(i) Describe an act or attempted act of sexual contact performed with or on the child witness by another person or with or on a child other than the child witness by another person;(ii) Describe an act or attempted act of physical abuse against the child witness by another person or against a child other than the child witness by another person; or(iii) Describe a violent offense as defined by RCW 9.94A.030 committed against a person known by or familiar to the child witness or by a person known by or familiar to the child witness;(b) The testimony is taken during the criminal proceeding;(c) The court finds by substantial evidence, in a hearing conducted outside the presence of the jury, that requiring the child witness to testify in the presence of the defendant will cause the child to suffer serious emotional or mental distress that will prevent the child from reasonably communicating at the trial. If the defendant is excluded from the presence of the child, the jury must also be excluded;(d) As provided in subsection (1)(a) and (b) of this section, the court may allow a child witness to testify in the presence of the defendant but outside the presence of the jury, via closed-circuit television, if the court finds, upon motion and hearing outside the presence of the jury, that the child will suffer serious emotional distress that will prevent the child from reasonably comm