IN THE MATTER OF COLBERDEE

It is hereby ORDERED that the order so appealed from be and the same hereby is unanimously affirmed without costs.

Memorandum: Respondent appeals from an order of fact-finding and disposition determining that he sexually abused his daughter. Contrary to respondent's contention, Family Court's findings of sexual abuse are supported by a preponderance of the evidence ( see Family Ct Act § 1046 [b] [i]; see also Matter of Dutchess County Dept. of Social Servs. v. Margaret F., 186 A.D.2d 255, 256). Respondent correctly contends that where, as here, the evidence includes out-of-court statements of a child, such statements must be adequately corroborated to constitute admissible proof of abuse ( see Matter of Tanya T., 252 A.D.2d 677, 678, lv denied 92 N.Y.2d 812). However, the testimony of a physician detailing the physical indicia of abuse is sufficient to corroborate such unsworn out-of-court statements ( see Matter of Commissioner of Social Servs. of City of N.Y. v. Evelyn R., 217 A.D.2d 697; see also Matter of Tyler K., 261 A.D.2d 834; Matter of Kimberly K., 123 A.D.2d 865).

In this case, the out-of-court statements of the four-year-old victim that she and her daddy "had sex" and her frank description of the activity were corroborated by the testimony of a physician that the victim had injuries that were indicative of sexual abuse. The court has considerable discretion in determining whether a child's out-of-court statements describing incidents of abuse have been reliably corroborated and whether the record as a whole supports a finding of abuse ( see Matter of Commissioner of Social Servs. v. Lorenzo M., 239 A.D.2d 498). We conclude that the physician's testimony sufficiently corroborates the child's out-of-court statements and that petitioner met its burden of proving that respondent sexually abused his daughter by a preponderance of the evidence.