P.v . Sikat
A jury convicted Sheila Marie Sikat of 55 counts of child sexual molestation, including sodomy of a person under age 14, lewd acts upon a child, oral copulation of a person under 14 years of age, anal or genital penetration by a foreign object of a person under 14 years of age, and using the victim to film sexual conduct involving a minor. (Pen. Code, 286, subd. (c)(1); 288, subd. (a); 288a, subd. (c)(1); 289, subd. (j); 311.4, subd. (c), hereafter 311.4(c); all further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise noted.) The victim was defendants four-year-old niece, Y.S. Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support her conviction for filming sexual conduct by a minor. Specifically, she argues the child victim must be conscious during filming so that he or she can engage in the posing or modeling prohibited by statute. ( 311.4, subd. (c).) In other words, there is no violation if the offender poses or models an unconscious or passively involved child. Defendant also argues the trial courts comments at the sentencing hearing revealed both an appearance of bias against her requiring disqualification (Code Civ. Proc., 170.1) and a probability of bias infringing her right to due process.[1]As we explain below, defendants contentions are without merit. Court therefore affirm the judgment.



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