Virginia Code
Va. Code Ann. § 19.2-268.2 (2026)
Recent complaint hearsay exception (Subdivision (23) of Supreme Court Rule 2:803 derived from this section)
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Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in any prosecution for criminal sexual assault under Article 7 (§ 18.2-61 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2, a violation of §§ 18.2-361, 18.2-366, 18.2-370 or § 18.2-370.1, the fact that the person injured made complaint of the offense recently after commission of the offense is admissible, not as independent evidence of the offense, but for the purpose of corroborating the testimony of the complaining witness.
1993, c. 592.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 38
cases (8 in the last 5 years), 1994–2025 · leading case: Wilson v. Commonwealth, 615 S.E.2d 500 (Va. Ct. App. 2005).
Wilson v. Commonwealth, 615 S.E.2d 500 (Va. Ct. App. 2005). “On appeal, Wilson challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his convictions, also contending that the trial court erroneously admitted a letter that the victim wrote to her grandmother because the victim’s letter did not qualify as a “recent complaint” within the…”
Keith Alexander Mayberry v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 782 S.E.2d 599 (Va. Ct. App. 2016). “At the conclusion of the testimony, appellant’s counsel moved to introduce the transcript from the preliminary hearing both as a recent complaint under Code § 19.2-268.2 and as evidence of a prior inconsistent statement.”
Breeden v. Commonwealth, 596 S.E.2d 563 (Va. Ct. App. 2004). “On appeal, Breeden contends the trial court erred in finding the evidence sufficient to support each of these convictions and in admitting evidence of the complaining witness’ recent complaints of rape under Code § 19.2-268.2. For the reasons that follow, we affirm Breeden’s…”
Terry v. Commonwealth, 484 S.E.2d 614 (Va. Ct. App. 1997). “On appeal, he contends that the victim’s complaint of rape to her mother, made ten months after the alleged rape, was not sufficiently recent and reliable to have been admissible into evidence under Code § 19.2-268.2. Finding no error, we affirm the defendant’s conviction.”
Anderson v. Com., 717 S.E.2d 623 (Va. 2011). “The defendant argues on appeal that the prior consistent statements that the circuit court admitted in evidence over his objection went far beyond proof of the mere fact of their utterance, as would have been admissible under the second exception discussed above or under Code §…”
Castelow v. Commonwealth, 512 S.E.2d 137 (Va. Ct. App. 1999). “Castelow first contends the trial judge erred in admitting the testimony of the child’s stepmother concerning the child’s statement that Castelow sexually molested her. He argues that the statement, coming sixteen months after the alleged event, was not a recent complaint.”
Blaylock v. Commonwealth, 496 S.E.2d 97 (Va. Ct. App. 1998). “Appellant contended both at trial and on appeal that Starr’s statements and those of her husband were not "recent” and were therefore erroneously admitted in violation of Code § 19.2-268.2. Code § 19.2-268.2 provides: Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in any…”
Deante Lamar Payne v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 776 S.E.2d 442 (Va. Ct. App. 2015). “A statement *211 may accurately summarize long-accepted findings from the fields of psychology, biology, sociology, or history, and be supported by the defendant’s evidence and theory of the case; this does not mean such statement must, or even may, be given as a jury…”
Woodard v. Commonwealth, 448 S.E.2d 328 (Va. Ct. App. 1994). “Although the original rule is no longer operative, subsequent case law and recent legislation make admissible into evidence the victim’s complaint of rape in the prosecution’s case-in-chief under the “recent complaint” rule.”
Jenkins v. Commonwealth, 492 S.E.2d 131 (Va. 1997). “Urging yet another exception to the hearsay rule, the Commonwealth argues on brief that the child’s statement was admissible as a “recent-complaint” under Code § 19.2-268.2. That statute provides that “in any prosecution for criminal sexual assault .”
Mitchell v. Commonwealth, 486 S.E.2d 551 (Va. Ct. App. 1997). “Code § 19.2-268.2 provides: Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in any prosecution for criminal sexual assault under Article 7 (§ 18.”
Brown v. Commonwealth, 554 S.E.2d 711 (Va. Ct. App. 2001). “The admission of evidence concerning a rape victim’s complaint as an exception to the hearsay rule is codified in Code § 19.2-268.2 as follows: Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in any prosecution for criminal sexual assault under Article 7 (§ 18.”
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