A-23-0251, State (Appellee) v. Mario Blanco (Appellant)
Scotts Bluff County, District Judge Leo P. Dobrovolny
Attorney for Appellant: Paul A. Payne (Scotts Bluff County Public Defender’s Office)
Attorney for Appellee: Michael T. Hilgers and P. Christian Adamski (Attorney General’s Office)
Criminal Action: First-Degree Sexual Assault of a Child
Action Taken by Trial Court: During a jury trial the district court determined that that the victim’s hearsay statement describing the sexual assault to her cousin was admissible as an excited utterance. Following the trial, Blanco was convicted of first-degree sexual assault of a child and sentenced to a term of 40 to 60 years’ imprisonment.
Assignments of Error on Appeal: Blanco appeals, assigning that the district court erred in admitting hearsay statements made by the victim to her cousin under the excited utterance exception and the district court’s admission of the hearsay evidence was not harmless error.