P. v. Zamora CA4/3

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 5, 2013
DocketG046664
StatusUnpublished

This text of P. v. Zamora CA4/3 (P. v. Zamora CA4/3) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
P. v. Zamora CA4/3, (Cal. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

Filed 8/5/13 P. v. Zamora CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, G046664

v. (Super. Ct. No. 09NF2399)

JUAN ANTONIO ZAMORA, OPINION

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Dan McNerney, Judge. Affirmed. Patricia J. Ulibarri, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, Barry Carlton and Jennifer B. Truong, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. Juan Antonio Zamora appeals from a judgment after a jury convicted him of four counts of committing a lewd act on a child under the age of 14 years and three counts of sexual penetration with a child 10 years of age or younger. Zamora argues: (1) insufficient evidence supports a finding of sexual penetration; (2) the trial court erred in admitting portions of the investigating detective‟s testimony; (3) the court failed to instruct the jury sua sponte on child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome (CSAAS); (4) the court erred in instructing the jury on unanimity; (5) he received ineffective assistance of counsel; and (6) there was cumulative error. We agree the court erred in admitting one portion of the detective‟s testimony but conclude Zamora was not prejudiced. None of his other contentions have merit, and we affirm the judgment. FACTS In 2008, four-year-old N.B. left Mexico and arrived in Santa Ana to live with her mother (Mother). Mother and Zamora, who met while working at El Pollo Loco, had been dating for two years. Mother and Zamora would often sleep at each other‟s residence, and when they did, Mother, N.B., and Zamora would share the same bed. During the first half of 2009, when N.B.‟s mother worked, Zamora would babysit N.B. One summer afternoon in 2009, five-year-old N.B. and her mother, who were both clothed, were asleep on top of the covers of Zamora‟s bed while Zamora took a shower. When Zamora finished his shower, he woke up Mother by leaning on her and kissing her, but Mother was tired and closed her eyes. When Mother opened her eyes, she saw Zamora use his hands to spread N.B.‟s legs. Zamora put his hand through one of the leg holes of N.B.‟s shorts and rubbed her pubic area. Mother stood up and sobbingly asked Zamora what he was doing. Zamora told her to be quiet and that she did not see

2 anything. Mother and N.B. left. Mother first took N.B. to the doctor and a few days later to the La Habra Police Station, where she told an officer what had occurred. 1 A couple weeks later, social worker Maria Ochoa went to Mother‟s residence and spoke with N.B. alone. Using a drawing, N.B. defined the body parts as follows: breasts = “chichis”; vagina = “cositas” and “parte”; and buttocks = “pompis”. N.B. initially denied anyone touched her inappropriately. She eventually disclosed Zamora had touched her cositas. She stated Zamora used his finger to touch her cositas and put his finger inside her cositas. Ochoa explained N.B. used the word “adentro,” literally translated as “inside.” When Ochoa asked N.B. how many times Zamora had put his finger inside her vagina, N.B. answered, “Many times.” Ochoa said she ended the interview as required by protocol and arranged a interview with the Child Abuse Services Team (CAST). Two weeks later, Mother spoke with Detective Dean Capelletti. She showed Capelletti her cellular telephone and text messages Zamora had sent to her; Capelletti took photographs of the text messages. They read as follows: (1) “„I can‟t stop thinking about you guys. Not one minute. Every day.‟”; (2) “„I‟d ask you for forgiveness all my life if you would return to me[.]‟”; (3) “„Did you throw my stuff away in the garbage?‟”; and (4) “ „I feel like I‟m dying little one.‟” After each of those text messages, Zamora included the emoticon, “”. Mother told Capelletti what she had observed Zamora doing to N.B.

1 The officer was unavailable to testify, and this evidence was introduced by way of a stipulation.

3 Mother made a covert telephone call to Zamora while Capelletti listened.2 The following week, social worker Adrianna Ball of the Child Abuse Services Team (CAST) interviewed five-year-old N.B.3 Capelletti and a prosecutor observed the interview from behind a one-way mirror. Ball showed N.B. a drawing of a girl. Based on the picture, N.B. again referred to breasts as “chichis”, the pubic region as “cosita”, and buttocks as “pompis”. N.B. told Ball she came from Mexico when she was four years old and Zamora began touching her three to five months after she arrived. N.B. explained Zamora touched her “little part” with his hand on the outside and the inside more than 10 times and that it hurt. Ball responded, “Outside and inside? Okay, . . . okay.” She said Zamora told her that if she resisted or told anyone, he would abandon her on the street. N.B. said Zamora touched her while they were in Zamora‟s bedroom, at her house, and in the garage at her house. The same day, Dr. Van Nguyen Greco, a member of the CAST medical unit, examined N.B. Based on her observation of the CAST interview, Greco understood N.B. complained she had been digitally penetrated in her vagina and she experienced pain. Greco‟s examination of N.B. revealed no signs of injuries,4 which could be explained by the fact there was no injury, the lapse of time, or the elasticity of the hymen.

2 Based on our review of the record, it appears just a small portion of that recording was played for the jury, about the first 10 pages of the 93-page transcript. However, neither the compact disc nor the interview transcript were admitted into evidence. As we explain below, however, Capelletti testified regarding various statements Zamora made during the covert telephone call.

3 A DVD of the interview was played for the jury. The prosecutor‟s exhibit No. 12A was transmitted to this court for our review. The interview was conducted in Spanish.

4 Greco testified 96 percent of child sexual abuse cases have normal findings.

4 Greco could not confirm nor deny N.B. had been sexually abused, and her assessment was consistent with N.B.‟s history of what transpired. The following day, Capelletti interviewed Zamora.5 Capelletti advised Zamora of his rights pursuant to Miranda v. Arizona (1966) 384 U.S. 436. When Capelletti finally confronted Zamora with N.B.‟s accusations, Zamora eventually admitted he was attracted to N.B. and felt ashamed, but he did not know where to go for help. Zamora could not remember the first time he touched N.B., but he did feel guilty. He admitted anything she wore aroused him and she “provoked” him. Zamora admitted he touched N.B. more than five times but not more than 10 times. Zamora admitted he touched her pubic region on the skin with his hand, but he denied he put his finger inside her vagina. Zamora said he continued touching N.B. because she said it felt good and she liked it. He denied threatening her. Capelletti and another detective interviewed N.B. N.B. stated Zamora touched her pubic region but denied he put his finger inside her vagina. An amended information charged Zamora with four counts of committing a lewd act on a child under the age of 14 years (Pen. Code, § 288, subd.

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