People v. Love CA4/2

California Court of Appeal·Decided October 26, 2020·No. E072488·Unpublished

Opinion

Filed 10/26/20 P. v. Love CA4/2

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, E072488 v. (Super.Ct.No. RIF1803719) IVINE BERNABE LOVE, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from the Superior Court of Riverside County. David A. Gunn and Charles J. Koosed, Judges. Affirmed with directions.

Steven A. Torres, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, A. Natasha Cortina and Quisteen S. Shum, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

On appeal, defendant and appellant Ivine Bernabe Love contends (1) his conviction for oral copulation of his four-year-old daughter, Jane Doe, must be reversed because the corpus delicti was not established independent of his statements, (2) the order prohibiting him from having any contact with Jane should be stricken because the trial court failed to state any code section authorizing the order at the time of sentencing, and (3) the abstract of judgment must be amended to reflect the court struck the assessments and fees imposed under Penal Code1 section 1465.8 and Government Code section 70373. We modify the no-contact order and order the abstract of judgment corrected; otherwise, we affirm.

I. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND AND FACTS Defendant and R.V. are the parents of three children; the oldest is Jane Doe (born April 2014). In June 2018, while R.V. was at her obstetrician’s office, Jane freely exclaimed defendant “licked her like a dog.” The two were in the bathroom, and Jane, who had just finished using the toilet, was waiting for R.V., who was using the toilet. R.V. confronted defendant about Jane’s disclosure, but he denied it. Nonetheless, R.V. remained suspicious of him.

On August 5, 2018, R.V. and defendant argued. He told her he was “on drugs.”

She was concerned and tried to talk to him, but he gave her “the cold shoulder” and tried to end their conversation by simply saying, “‘Yeah, you’re right.’” At one point, she pinched his leg and slapped his chest. Defendant called the police; however, no arrest was made.

1 Further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise stated.

On August 7, 2018, R.V. and defendant talked, but he seemed distant by the way he responded to her questions. When asked if he had anything to tell her, defendant said he had molested their daughter. R.V. asked specifically what he did to Jane, and he said he licked her vagina. R.V. became upset and angry, and was concerned for Jane. That night, R.V. told defendant that he could be punished for what he did and threatened to report him. The next day, R.V. tried to talk to defendant about their relationship and Jane, but he said he had nothing to say and told her to call the police. R.V. did not call the police because she was a stay-at-home mom and was worried about “what life was going to be like without [defendant’s] financial support.”

On August 9, 2018, a “CPS worker” made a checkup call following the domestic violence incident on August 5. R.V. reported defendant’s disclosure, and the worker called the police. In a recorded conversation, R.V. told Officer Rosenblum about defendant’s admission of his molestation of Jane. When the officer asked R.V. what defendant specifically said to her, she replied, “‘He ate her out.’” More specifically, she stated that defendant said, “‘He licked her clit and vagina.’” R.V. said that defendant had done this approximately one year earlier and that Jane stays with her. R.V. explained that she had not called the police because defendant was the family’s main support. R.V. also told the officer that Jane had previously said, “‘Papi licked me like a dog. But I had a dream and monkeys, and I don’t know.’”

Defendant moved out of the house. On August 9, 2018, Detective Garcia arranged for R.V. to make a pretext call to defendant on the detective’s department-issued cell phone. Defendant answered, but hung up. Two minutes later, R.V.’s call did not go through. Detective Garcia, with R.V.’s permission, subsequently text messaged defendant. He began: “‘Papi, you don’t want to talk to me anymore?’” After three messages, defendant responded with three separate messages: “‘I tried talking to you. I wanted to help you before I left, but you only wanted me in jail.’ [¶] . . . [¶] . . . ‘Now that I am gone, you should talk to your family for help.’ [¶] . . . [¶] ‘Best advice I can give right now is get that child support.’” Detective Garcia, pretending to be R.V., countered: “‘What am I supposed to do or think after what you told me about (Jane Doe)?’” Defendant replied: “‘You made your choice. I hope all goes well for you, [R.V.]’”

To refocus defendant on the allegations, Detective Garcia texted: “‘That’s it. I don’t know what to choose. We’ve been together for five years. I don’t know what to do. You want me to go to the police? Is our love done?’” Defendant replied: “‘I’m gone already. Choose yourself and the kids.’” Detective Garcia responded: “‘So that’s really it? That’s the memory you want to leave for your children? What do I tell (Jane Doe) when she is older and asks why Daddy licked her? Not even going to try to fix it, not even for her?’” Defendant replied: “‘I tried fixing it when I was being honest with you. You just wanted me to be punished. How am I supposed to fix anything if I’m locked up or end up killed? What did you expect from me then?’” Defendant added: “‘I could have been working but I would have been sent away anyway.’” Detective

Garcia responded: “‘Because that’s what I really want; right? Whatever. If you’re done, you’re done. I’ll figure it out on my own.’” He added: “‘This is how it is now.’” Defendant answered: “‘Exactly, because it’s what you really wanted.’”

Several hours after his last message and thinking that he was still texting R.V., defendant messaged Detective Garcia’s phone: “‘Life feels like nothing without you guys right now. I’m sorry for everything.’” Since the text was sent to the detective’s work-issued cell phone, and the detective had ended his work day, he did not see it until he arrived for work the next morning on August 10, 2018. Around 11:01 a.m., Detective Garcia, pretending to be R.V., texted: “‘You have me so confused what to do. First you tell me you’re done. Now you say you miss us. I’ve struggled all night with what to do.’” Defendant immediately responded: “‘First thing, get the child support; second, ask about living with your grandma . . . or your sister. Ask [our roommate] if he would be willing to lend you money. Also to help out more, see if (Jane Doe) can stay with your sister for a while until you’re more stable. I’m sure your grandma will have some love towards the boys, hopefully.’” A follow-up text repeated his advice that R.V. immediately get child support.

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People v. Love CA4/2, (Cal. Ct. App. 2020).

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