P. v. Franco
According to the daughter and stepdaughter of defendant Ruben Dejesus Franco, he sexually molested each of them when they were under 14. He started by playing a “tickling game†with them; during this “game,†he would touch their breasts, buttocks, or pubic area. In the case of his stepdaughter, his conduct eventually escalated to oral copulation.
At trial, defendant admitted that he orally copulated his stepdaughter once, and she orally copulated him once. However, he claimed that she “enticed†him. He also claimed that the first incident took place in Mexico and the second took place after she had already turned 14. He claimed that, if he touched his own daughter’s breasts or pubic area at all, he did so only while trying to cover her up after her clothing became disarranged during the “tickling game.†Otherwise, he denied all the alleged sex acts.
After hearing testimony for three days, a jury took only one hour to find defendant guilty on seven counts of a nonforcible lewd act on a child under 14. (Pen. Code, § 288, subd. (a).) A multiple-victim allegation for purposes of the one strike law was found true. (Pen. Code, § 667.61, subd. (e)(5).) Defendant was sentenced to a total of 46 years to life, plus the usual fines and fees.
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