In re Edward R.
Edward R., aged 16, and his brother, Evan R., aged 14, (hereafter referred to individually by first name or collectively as the minors) were continued as wards of the juvenile court after each admitted the allegations of a subsequent petition filed pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 602. The petitions alleged that each minor committed a lewd and lascivious act on a child under the age of 14 by inserting his penis into the vagina of a 12 year old girl, in violation of Penal Code section 288, subdivision (a) (hereafter section 288(a)). (All further statutory citations refer to the Penal Code unless another code is specified.)
Edward contends that the district attorney violated his right to due process by charging him with a violation of section 288(a) rather than with unlawful sexual intercourse in violation of section 261.5, thereby depriving him of the defense that he reasonably believed that the victim was 14. He also contends that the juvenile court violated his right to due process by failing to order the most appropriate disposition. Evan joins in these arguments, and also contends that the juvenile court erred by ordering him placed in a facility for sex offenders. In the alternative, Evan contends that court remand the matter to permit the court to state his maximum potential term of confinement.
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