Filed 7/14/26 P. v. W.A. CA6
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IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF H053658
CALIFORNIA, (Santa Clara County
Super. Ct. No. 24JV47044A)
Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
W.A.,
Defendant and Appellant.
W.A. appeals a final order declaring him to be a ward of the juvenile court
pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 602, after the juvenile court found true
the lesser included offense of committing a lewd act upon a person under 14, pursuant to
Penal Code section 288, subdivision (a).
We appointed counsel to represent W.A. in this court. His appointed counsel filed
an opening brief that states the case and the facts but raises no issues. Counsel asks this
court to conduct an independent review of the record to determine whether there are any
arguable issues. (See People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende).) This court
notified W.A. of his right to submit written argument on his own behalf, but he did not do
so.
Finding no arguable error that would result in a disposition more favorable to
W.A., we affirm the order.
I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
W.A. and the victim first met after a party in 2023, when W.A. was 15 years old
and the victim was 12. After they met, the two began communicating via the WhatsApp
smartphone application. At some point, they became boyfriend and girlfriend, and they
would meet in person on occasion at a park in Campbell, unbeknownst to the victim’s
parents.
One day in October 2023, the victim invited W.A. to the home where she lived
with her family in Campbell. No one else was home when W.A. came over. The victim
testified at trial that W.A. “made” her have sex with him that day, which was the first and
only time they had sex. The victim became pregnant from that encounter.
Sometime thereafter, the victim told W.A. that she may be pregnant. W.A. then
stopped communicating with her.
The victim did not tell her parents she was pregnant until her mother took her to
the hospital to give birth. The victim’s baby was born on June 22, 2024.
DNA samples were taken from W.A., the victim, and the baby. The DNA testing
confirmed that the victim was the baby’s biological mother, and that it was 29.9 billion
times more likely than not that W.A. was the baby’s biological father.
On December 4, 2024, the People filed a juvenile wardship petition against W.A.,
pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 602. A second amended petition
pursuant to that statute was filed on May 8, 2025, alleging that W.A. had committed a
lewd and lascivious act upon a child by force, violence, duress, menace, or fear (Pen.
Code, § 288, subd. (b)(1) (Count 1), and rape by force, violence, duress, menace, or fear
(Pen. Code, § 261, subd. (a)(2) (Count 2)).
On August 19, 2025, the juvenile court found that the allegations against W.A. in
counts 1 and 2 were not true beyond a reasonable doubt, but the court did find that the
lesser included charge to Count 1 of a violation of Penal Code section 288, subdivision
(a), was true beyond a reasonable doubt. That statute provides: “(a) Except as provided
2
in subdivision (i), a person who willfully and lewdly commits any lewd or lascivious act,
including any of the acts constituting other crimes provided for in Part 1, upon or with the
body, or any part or member thereof, of a child who is under the age of 14 years, with the
intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions, or sexual desires of that
person or the child, is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the
state prison for three, six, or eight years.” (Pen. Code, § 288, subd. (a).)
The juvenile court further found that W.A. fell under the provisions of Welfare
and Institutions Code section 602, subdivision (a), which provides: “(a) Except as
provided in Section 707, any minor who is between 12 years of age and 17 years of age,
inclusive, when he or she violates any law of this state or of the United States or any
ordinance of any city or county of this state defining crime other than an ordinance
establishing a curfew based solely on age, is within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court,
which may adjudge the minor to be a ward of the court.”
W.A. timely appealed.
II. DISCUSSION
We have reviewed the record under Wende, supra, 25 Cal.3d 436. Concluding
that there is no arguable issue on appeal that would result in a disposition more favorable
to W.A., we affirm the order.
III. DISPOSITION
The order is affirmed.
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___________________________________
Wilson, J.
WE CONCUR:
__________________________________________
Grover, Acting P. J.
______________________________________
Lie, J.
People v. W.A.
H053658
