People v. Ward

188 Cal. App. 3d 459, 233 Cal. Rptr. 477, 1986 Cal. App. LEXIS 2395
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 29, 1986
DocketF005416
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 188 Cal. App. 3d 459 (People v. Ward) 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. Ward, 188 Cal. App. 3d 459, 233 Cal. Rptr. 477, 1986 Cal. App. LEXIS 2395 (Cal. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

Opinion

WOOLPERT, Acting P. J.

Defendant appeals from a judgment convicting him of multiple sex offenses: six counts of Penal Code 1 section 288, subdivision (a) (lewd and lascivious conduct); six counts of section 288, subdivision (b) (forcible lewd and lascivious conduct); six counts of section 288, subdivision (b) (forcible lewd and lascivious conduct); three counts of section 261, subdivision (2) (rape by force or fear); and three counts of section 261.5 (unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor). The trial court sentenced defendant to a 75-year term in state prison, consisting of 9 consecutive 8-year aggravated terms for the section 288, subdivision (b) and section 261, subdivision (2) counts, plus a 3-year enhancement for a prior prison term (§ 667.5, subd. (c)(1)). The court stayed execution of the sentence on the remaining counts pursuant to section 654.

The Facts

In early December 1982, defendant lived in Sonora with his wife, Karen, and her 13-year-old daughter by a prior marriage, M.C. Defendant and his wife were married in 1979 while he was serving a term of imprisonment for second degree murder at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville. After his February 1981 release, defendant joined his wife and stepdaughter in Modesto. Defendant told M. C. in great detail about the murder he had committed.

*463 In November 1981, a killing occurred in the garage of the Ward residence. The police arrested and charged defendant with the murder. Defendant was eventually acquitted of the charge and released in December 1982. Following his release, however, defendant told his stepdaughter he killed the man in the garage.

Late one evening before Christmas 1982, M.C. was watching television alone in the family’s living room. Her mother was in bed, asleep. Defendant entered the living room and “got under the covers” which were wrapped around M. C. He threatened to “take [M.C.’s] mother out” if the girl did not do what he wanted. By his frequent use of the expression “take [someone] out,” M. C. understood defendant to mean he would kill her mother. Defendant then undressed his stepdaughter and had sexual intercourse with her.

Thereafter, defendant had sexual intercourse with M.C. approximately once a week until March or April of 1984. Defendant did not always threaten to kill his wife before having intercourse with the girl. Rather, he repeated the threat at least twice a month throughout this period.

During the time defendant, M.C. and her mother lived together, defendant frequently demonstrated his interest and skill in the martial arts. He boasted to M.C. about the many ways he knew of killing a person. He showed M.C. how to use “nunchucks” which he explained could be used to break a person’s bones. He also displayed a needle which he claimed had a poison tip capable of causing death.

Defendant moved out of the family home in May 1984. M.C. was later examined by a pediatrician on the Child Trauma Team at the Children’s Hospital in Oakland. He testified M. C. had experienced repeated sexual intercourse. In the doctor’s opinion there were a number of reasons for concluding M.C. had not been involved with multiple sex partners. Further, M.C. exhibited symptoms of psychological stress: When the doctor asked her who had done it, M. C. spoke defendant’s name so softly that she had to repeat it three times for him to understand her response.

Defense

Defendant denied committing any offense. He speculated Karen Ward married him for an inheritance he received after his release from prison. He believed the mother pressured her daughter into making up the charges. There was further evidence that while defendant was in jail on the 1981 murder charge, the girl first reported, but later recanted, her report of being *464 molested by defendant. A school acquaintance also testified M.C. tended to lie.

I. Fear of Immediate and Unlawful Bodily Harm

Defendant argues he did not threaten immediate harm, within the meaning of section 261, subdivision (2), 2 and therefore did not rape M.C. as charged. According to defendant, the victim’s testimony made clear that any harm to her mother would occur in the future. He notes the Legislature amended section 261 in 1981 to include acts accomplished against the victim’s will by threatening to retaliate in the future against the victim or any other person. 3 From this amendment and by citation to case law preceding the 1981 amendment, defendant concludes the threatened harm was not likely to occur at any moment and was therefore not immediate under section 261, subdivision (2).

The Attorney General notes the prosecutor inexplicably failed to charge violations of both subdivisions (2) and (6) of section 261. Obviously, he suggests in factual situations where threatened harm is borderline in terms of imminence, a cautious district attorney should plead both subdivisions. According to appellant, the pleading error must result in a reversal and dismissal because jeopardy principles preclude a retrial on these counts.

The premise of defendant’s attack on the rape convictions, according to the Attorney General, is that the victim’s mother was allegedly not “present” when the sexual intercourse occurred. The Attorney General argues, however: (1) there is no evidence that the mother was out of the house at the time of the attacks; and (2) there is no “presence” requirement in section 261, subdivision (2). Further, defendant’s repeated threats, coupled by his apparent ability and previous willingness to take human life, clearly show an intent to act without the occurrence of any intervening object, cause or agency, justifying defendant’s conviction under section 261, subdivision (2).

By way of background, the jury convicted defendant of raping his then 14-year-old stepdaughter on three occasions: “On or about October and *465 November, 1983” (count 13), “on or about December 1983 and January 1984” (count 15), and “on or before February 1984 and March 1984” (count 17). Except for the first incident of sexual intercourse before Christmas 1982, which the prosecutor did not charge, the stepdaughter could offer few distinguishing details about the rapes. The stepdaughter testified defendant had sexual intercourse with her once or twice a week following the first incident in 1982 until approximately March 1984. She added that while the threats did not always precede the intercourse, at least twice a month, defendant would repeat his threat to kill the mother before the sexual intercourse occurred. However, the stepdaughter did not recall whether her mother was home during the attacks.

In essence, defendant claims his conduct fell within section 261, subdivision (6), rather than section 261, subdivision (2), that is: Any harm to M.C.’s mother could only occur in the future, not immediately. With such an argument, there is a temptation to apply dictionary-like definitions to resolve whether this is a case of unlawful sexual conduct accomplished against the victim’s will: (1) by means of fear of

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Bluebook (online)
188 Cal. App. 3d 459, 233 Cal. Rptr. 477, 1986 Cal. App. LEXIS 2395, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-ward-calctapp-1986.