A man who directed the mother of an eight-year-old girl to molest the child while he watched on a webcam was not denied a fair trial when the judge barred his parents from the courtroom while the victim testified, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said Friday.

The judges parted only on whether Eastern District Judge Nicholas Garaufis (See Profile) fulfilled his responsibility to consider reasonable alternatives before closing the courtroom.