United States Fourth Circuit

Conviction and sentence of a 24 year-old for repeatedly touching a 13-year-old girl during a transcontinental flight is affirmed where: 1) the hearsay testimony of two passengers about what the child said to them fell within the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule; 2) 18 U.S.C. section 2244(a)(3) does not require that the defendant know the victim's age; and 3) the district court did not abuse its discretion in giving a deliberate ignorance instruction.

Appellate Information

• Argued 05/25/2007
• Decided 08/03/2007
• Published 08/03/2007

Judges

• Before WILKINSON, NIEMEYER, and GREGORY, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Fourth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• ARGUED:  Frances Hemsley Pratt, Research and Writing Attorney, Office of the Federal Public Defender, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellant.   Patricia Tolliver Giles, Assistant United States Attorney, Office of The United States Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee.   ON BRIEF:  Michael S. Nachmanoff, Acting Federal Public Defender, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellant.  Chuck Rosenberg, United States Attorney, Michael E. Rich, Assistant United States Attorney, Office of the United States Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee.