Young Girl Competent to Testify During Criminal Proceeding
Avalos v. Commonwealth, No. 2874-03-4, 2005 WL 1429772 (Va. Ct. App. June 21, 2005)
The Virginia Court of Appeals ruled that a young girl, whose exact age was not given, was competent to testify in a criminal proceeding. The defendant in the case had been convicted of animate object sexual penetration of a child under the age of 13. He claimed that the alleged victim was incompetent to testify because she did not independently remember the incident, had a limited capacity to recall the events, and did not understand or affirm the oath administered prior to her testimony...