Westbrook v. Hubbard — Custody Order Reversed Where Child’s Recorded Statement About Sexual Abuse Was Admitted Without OEC 803(18a)(b) Notice or Reliability Showing
The Oregon Court of Appeals reversed an order denying father’s motions to enforce parenting time and modify custody after the trial court admitted a child’s recorded statement about sexual abuse without requiring the proponent to comply with OEC 803(18a)(b)’s mandatory prerequisites of 15 days’ advance notice and an affirmative reliability showing, and found the error harmful because the statement was the only evidence of the sexual nature of the alleged abuse.