People v. Catarino CA4/1

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 14, 2021
DocketD078832
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Catarino CA4/1 (People v. Catarino CA4/1) 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
People v. Catarino CA4/1, (Cal. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

Filed 10/14/21 P. v. Catarino CA4/1

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THE PEOPLE, D078832

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. (Super. Ct. No. C1635441)

EDGAR SANDOVAL CATARINO,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Santa Clara County, Cynthia A. Sevely, Judge. Affirmed and remanded for resentencing. Ron Boyer, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant David Olvera. Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Jeffrey M. Laurence, Assistant Attorney General, Donna M. Provenzano and Melissa A. Meth, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

A jury convicted Edgar Sandoval Catarino of six counts of forcible lewd acts on a child under 14 and one count of attempted forcible lewd act on a child under 14. The trial court sentenced Catarino to 35 years and six months in prison. On appeal, Catarino argues the trial court prejudicially erred by allowing expert testimony on the statistical prevalence of false allegations of sexual abuse by children. He also asserts the court committed various errors in sentencing. Specifically, he contends (1) there was insufficient evidence to support the court’s finding of separate instances of abuse requiring

consecutive sentences under Penal Code section 667.6, subdivision (d);1 (2) under the Sixth Amendment, that finding was required to be made by a jury, not the trial court; and (3) the court applied the wrong legal standard to its finding. Additionally, Catarino argues, and the Attorney General concedes, that the court erred by sentencing Catarino’s attempt conviction under section 667.6, subdivision (d). We agree with the parties that the court erred by sentencing the attempt conviction under section 667.6, subdivision (d), but reject each of Catarino’s other appellate contentions. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment and remand for resentencing. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On November 8, 2017 the Santa Clara County District Attorney charged Catarino with eight counts of forcible lewd acts on a child under 14. The information alleged that Catarino molested his nine-year old cousin, B. Doe, eight separate times between June 8, 2015 and March 9, 2016 in violation of section 288, subdivision (b)(1) (counts 1 through 8). The case was brought to trial the following year. A. The Prosecution’s Case At trial, the prosecution called Doe, her younger sister, and her parents to testify about the molestation. Doe’s mother, Angelica V., explained that

1 Subsequent undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. 2 her husband is the brother of Catarino’s mother and she is the sister of Catarino’s father. The two families were extremely close before the molestation and the families lived next door to one another. When Doe was in fourth grade, she and her sister would go to the Catarino’s house after school twice a week to be watched by Catarino’s mother or his girlfriend, Laura D., while the girls’ parents worked. In February 2016 of that year, when Angelica was about to drop her daughters at the Catarino home, Doe told Angelica that she did not want to go because Catarino would do naughty things to her. After Doe told her mother about the abuse, Angelica and Doe’s father, Pedro V., convened a meeting with Catarino and his family. Doe and her sister were not included but were being watched in the house by Laura in another room. At the meeting, Catarino denied the accusations made by Doe. Catarino’s parents also did not believe Doe. Doe’s parents left the meeting in anger. When Angelica and Pedro returned an hour later, Catarino was asking for Doe’s forgiveness and he and his family were comforting her. Thereafter, Doe’s parents contacted the police and Doe was interviewed by Sugey Jaimez, a sheriff’s office sergeant trained in child forensic interview techniques. The interview was recorded and played for the jury. Doe also testified at trial about the molestation. She told the jury that all of the incidents occurred in Catarino’s bedroom. In describing the first incident, Doe stated that Catarino stood behind her, grabbed her by the waist, and put his hands under her clothing. Doe stated he touched her chest and her vagina under her clothes. Doe also testified that she could feel Catarino’s penis on her buttocks. During her trial testimony and her interview with Jaimez, she stated that Catarino moved back and forth “like a worm.” Doe stated she was scared and tried to push Catarino away.

3 After this first incident, there were other times Catarino stood behind Doe and moved in a way that she felt his penis. Doe testified that it happened more than twice. Doe also told Jaimez that Catarino would rub her vagina, which she called “pineapple,” “like a hurricane” and “squish” it. Doe said that Catarino usually did not try to take off her underwear, but he would “dig in” to her vagina. He touched her vagina over her clothes more than once. Doe also testified that in a separate incident Catarino pulled her pants partway down her legs. She pulled them back up and he tried to pull them down again. In another separate incident, Catarino put his hand under Doe’s shirt and touched her bra. He tried to “squish” her breasts. During the interview with Jaimez and at trial, Doe stated that the last incident of abuse she remembered took place during a birthday party for Catarino’s mother. It was late, and Doe went to lie down in Catarino’s bedroom. When she woke up, Catarino was in the room. Catarino walked toward the bed and bit Doe on her upper chest. It hurt and left a mark. Doe testified that Catarino had bit her on the chest on two occasions. Angelica testified that she had once noticed a bite mark on Doe’s chest, but at the time she did not know it was caused by Catarino. In each of the different instances of abuse, Doe was scared and she tried to fight off Catarino. Catarino told Doe not to tell anyone about his actions or he would get her in trouble, and said he would not let her play video games on his PlayStation, something nine-year-old Doe cared about. Because of Catarino’s threats, Doe was scared to tell her mother. Dr. Blake Carmichael testified for the prosecution as an expert in Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome (CSAAS). Dr. Carmichael was not familiar with the facts of this case and did not speak to any of the other witnesses. Dr. Carmichael described CSAAS as a group of concepts used to

4 educate people about sexual abuse, specifically the myths and misconceptions that many people hold about how a child should react to abuse perpetrated on them. In his testimony, Dr. Carmichael explained that there are five aspects to CSAAS: secrecy; helplessness; entrapment or accommodation; delayed, conflicted or unconvincing disclosure; and retraction. Dr. Carmichael testified that secrecy relates to the dynamic of how sexual abuse occurs, typically in private by a person with whom the victim has an ongoing relationship. This dynamic often inhibits the child victim from reporting the abuse because he or she does not want to ruin the relationship (or related family or friend relationships) by causing the perpetrator to be in trouble. Dr. Carmichael next explained that helplessness describes the vulnerability a victim feels when the abuse is perpetrated by someone who should be protecting them. According to Dr. Carmichael, helplessness inhibits a victim from reporting. Dr.

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People v. Catarino CA4/1, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-catarino-ca41-calctapp-2021.