P. v. Woolums
A jury found appellant Mark Stephen Woolums guilty of continuous sexual abuse of N.E., a child under 14 years of age. (Pen. Code, 288.5, subd. (a).) The court declared a mistrial based on the jurys inability to reach verdicts on the remaining counts involving two other young girls, B.M. and K.A., both of whom claimed appellant sexually abused them. Two months later, appellant entered a negotiated plea of no contest to one count of lewd and lascivious conduct upon B.M., a child under 14 years of age, with the understanding that a concurrent term would be imposed. (Pen. Code, 288, subd. (a).) In exchange, the prosecution dismissed all the remaining counts. The court then sentenced appellant to the aggravated term of 16 years in state prison.
On appeal, appellant makes several claims of evidentiary error. He first claims the trial court abused its discretion in excluding evidence of N.E.s prior sexual knowledge without first holding a hearing pursuant to Evidence Code section 782. He next argues that the court erred in admitting rebuttal evidence that was improperly used by the jury as character evidence to imply propensity. Appellant also claims that his constitutional rights were violated as a result of these evidentiary rulings. Lastly, appellant claims the aggravated terms imposed by the trial court based on facts not found by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt violated his constitutional rights to a jury trial and due process under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments. Court affirm.
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