West Virginia § 61-8-13 Incest; limits on interviews of children eleven years old or less; evidence

West Virginia Statutes

§ 61-8-13 — Incest; limits on interviews of children eleven years old or less; evidence

West Virginia § 61-8-13

Ch. 61CRIMES AND THEIR PUNISHMENT

Art. 8CRIMES AGAINST CHASTITY, MORALITY AND DECENCY

This text of West Virginia § 61-8-13 (Incest; limits on interviews of children eleven years old or less; evidence) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering West Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

W. Va. Code § 61-8-13 (2026).

Text

(a)In any prosecution under the provisions of section twelve of this article, the court may provide by rule for reasonable limits on the number of interviews to which a victim who is eleven years old or less must submit for law-enforcement or discovery purposes. To the extent possible the rule shall protect the mental and emotional health of the child from the psychological damage of repeated interrogation and at the same time preserve the rights of the public and the defendant.

(b)At any stage of the proceedings, in any prosecution under this article, the court may permit a child who is eleven years old or less to use anatomically correct dolls, mannequins or drawings to assist such child in testifying.

(c)In any prosecution under this article in which the victim's lack of consent is

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(a) In any prosecution under the provisions of section twelve of this article, the court may provide by rule for reasonable limits on the number of interviews to which a victim who is eleven years old or less must submit for law-enforcement or discovery purposes. To the extent possible the rule shall protect the mental and emotional health of the child from the psychological damage of repeated interrogation and at the same time preserve the rights of the public and the defendant.

(b) At any stage of the proceedings, in any prosecution under this article, the court may permit a child who is eleven years old or less to use anatomically correct dolls, mannequins or drawings to assist such child in testifying.

(c) In any prosecution under this article in which the victim's lack of consent is based solely on the incapacity to consent because such victim was below a critical age, evidence of specific instances of the victim's sexual conduct, opinion evidence of the victim's sexual conduct and reputation evidence of the victim's sexual conduct shall not be admissible. In any other prosecution under this article, evidence of specific instances of the victim's prior sexual conduct with the defendant shall be admissible on the issue of consent: Provided, That such evidence heard first out of the presence of the jury is found by the judge to be relevant.

(d) In any prosecution under this article evidence of specific instances of the victim's sexual conduct with persons other than the defendant, opinion evidence of the victim's sexual conduct and reputation evidence of the victim's sexual conduct shall not be admissible: Provided, That such evidence shall be admissible solely for the purpose of impeaching credibility, if the victim first makes his or her previous sexual conduct an issue in the trial by introducing evidence with respect thereto.

(e) In any prosecution under this article, neither age nor mental capacity of the victim shall preclude the victim from testifying.