People v. Diaz

41 Cal. App. 4th 1424, 49 Cal. Rptr. 2d 252
California Court of Appeal·Decided January 23, 1996·No. B088678·Published·Cited by 19 cases

Opinion

41 Cal.App.4th 1424 (1996)
49 Cal. Rptr.2d 252

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
DAVID PORTILLO DIAZ, Defendant and Appellant.

Docket No. B088678.

Court of Appeals of California, Second District, Division Seven.

January 23, 1996.

*1426 COUNSEL

Bruce Daniel Rosen, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Daniel E. Lungren, Attorney General, George Williamson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Carol Wendelin Pollack, Assistant Attorney General, John R. Gorey, Sanjay T. Kumar and Carl N. Henry, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

OPINION

WOODS (Fred), J.

In a court trial, appellant was convicted of child molestation (Pen. Code,[1] § 288, subd. (a); count I) and felony annoying or molesting a child under the age of 18 (§ 647.6; count II). Allegations appellant had suffered a serious felony conviction within the meaning of section 667, subdivision (a)(1) and two felony convictions within the meaning of section 667, subdivisions (b)-(i) were found true. Appellant was sentenced to state prison for 30 years to life.

Relying upon People v. Wallace (1992) 11 Cal. App.4th 568 [14 Cal. Rptr.2d 67], appellant contends the subject touching was not a lewd act. People v. Wallace, and its separate test for a "lewd act," have recently been disapproved by our Supreme Court. (People v. Martinez (1995) 11 Cal.4th 434, 452 [45 Cal. Rptr.2d 905, 903 P.2d 1037].) Accordingly, in compliance with People v. Martinez we reject the Wallace lewd act test, find substantial evidence the act was lewd, and conclude appellant's "three strikes" (§ 667, subds. (b)-(i)) contentions are without merit. We affirm the judgment.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The undisputed facts[2] may be stated simply.

On May 14, 1994, the Park Theater in the City of Huntington Park was showing "A Million To Juan." About 6 p.m. appellant was in the theater, seated by the wall. In the same row were Yadira Lopez, her infant son, and her 13-year-old sister-in-law Masiel O. A vacant seat separated Masiel O. from appellant. One row in front of them were Martha Hernandez, her child, and her husband.

*1427 Martha Hernandez looked back and saw appellant masturbating. After a few minutes he covered his lap with a newspaper but continued masturbating.

Masiel O. felt uncomfortable about appellant because he kept turning toward her.

Appellant then moved to the seat next to Masiel O. and, while still masturbating, touched her mid-thigh with his hand.

Masiel O. told Yadira Lopez what had happened, got up, and, with Ms. Lopez, went to the lobby to tell the manager.

Mrs. Hernandez, who saw appellant touch Masiel O., told her husband what happened.

Appellant immediately got up and went to the upstairs men's room. Later, when he exited, Masiel O. identified him to the theater manager and security guard. They told appellant to follow them but appellant ran outside. They pursued and caught appellant. The police were called and arrested appellant.

DISCUSSION

1. A lewd act

In pertinent part, section 288, subdivision (a), provides: "Any person who willfully and lewdly commits any lewd ... act ... upon or with the body, or any part ... thereof, of a child who is under the age of 14 years, with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions, or sexual desires of that person or the child, is guilty of a felony...."

(1) A violation of the statute requires "a touching of the body of a child under the age of 14, with the specific intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust of the child or the accused. [Citations.] Touching of a sexual organ is not required." (People v. Raley (1992) 2 Cal.4th 870, 907 [8 Cal. Rptr.2d 678, 830 P.2d 712].)

Expressly, the statute requires both a lewd touching and a lewd intent. But, also expressly, the statute is violated if "any part ... of a child ..." is lewdly touched. Accordingly, all of the following "touchings" have been found lewd: putting a hand inside a seven-year-old's pants and rubbing her stomach (People v. Dontanville (1970) 10 Cal. App.3d 783 [89 Cal. Rptr. 172]); hugging a seven-year-old with one's hands on the inside of her thighs *1428 (People v. Self (1993) 12 Cal. App.4th 1222 [16 Cal. Rptr.2d 67]); ordering a child to pull down her pants (People v. Austin (1980) 111 Cal. App.3d 110 [168 Cal. Rptr. 401]); compelling a child to disrobe (People v. Mickle (1991) 54 Cal.3d 140, 175-176 [284 Cal. Rptr. 511, 814 P.2d 290]); having a five-year-old touch the fully clothed defendant between his legs (People v. Gaglione (1994) 26 Cal. App.4th 1291 [32 Cal. Rptr.2d 169]); while standing by a backyard fence, "dangling" the hair and rubbing the back of a nine- to ten-year-old victim (People v. Sharp (1994) 29 Cal. App.4th 1772, 1789-1791 [36 Cal. Rptr.2d 117]); rubbing the stomach, back, and thigh of the victim (People v. Gilbert (1992) 5 Cal. App.4th 1372, 1380 [7 Cal. Rptr.2d 660]); kissing and rubbing the leg of a twelve-year-old girl (People v. Hobbs (1952) 109 Cal. App.2d 189, 190-192 [240 P.2d 411]); and requiring a child to drink urine (People v. Pitts (1990) 223 Cal. App.3d 606, 887 [273 Cal. Rptr. 757]).

Wallace stated the lewd touching must be "separate and apart from the intent of the perpetrator" (People v. Wallace, supra, 11 Cal. App.4th at p. 578) and offered this definition of a lewd touching: "... any touching ... which to an objectively reasonable person is sexually indecent or tends to arouse sexual desire." (Id. at p. 579.)

Our Supreme Court has disapproved Wallace and its definition of "lewd touching." (People v. Martinez, supra, 11 Cal.4th 434, 452.)

As Martinez states, "section 288 is violated by `any touching' of an underage child accomplished with the intent of arousing the sexual desires of either the perpetrator or the child." (11 Cal.4th at p. 452.) (Italics added.)

Wallace errs in assuming there are touchings inherently innocent — regardless of the toucher's intent. There are not. Any part of the body may be the object of a sexual fetish. Any touch, in fulfillment of such a fetish, is harmful to a child and prohibited by the statute.

We find substantial evidence that appellant's conduct constituted a lewd act.

2. Pre-March 7, 1994, prior felony conviction

(2) Appellant contends that his child molestation convictions in 1989 cannot be considered "strikes" (§ 667, subds. (b)-(i)) because they predated the three strikes law. He is mistaken. (People v. Reed (1995) 33 Cal. App.4th 1608 [40 Cal. Rptr.2d 47]; People v. Hatcher (1995) 33 Cal. App.4th 1526 [39 Cal. Rptr.2d 801]; People v. Anderson (1995) 35 Cal. App.4th 587, 600-601 *1429 [41 Cal. Rptr.2d 474]; People v. Green (1995) 36 Cal. App.4th 280 [42 Cal. Rptr.2d 249]; People v. Sipe (1995) 36 Cal. App.4th 468 [42 Cal. Rptr.2d 266]; Gonzales v. Superior Court (1995) 37 Cal. App.4th 1302 [44 Cal. Rptr.2d 144].)

3.

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