People v. Yaoch CA3

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 26, 2025
DocketC098829
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Yaoch CA3 (People v. Yaoch CA3) 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. Yaoch CA3, (Cal. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

Filed 2/26/25 P. v. Yaoch CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Lassen) ----

THE PEOPLE, C098829

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. Nos. 2021CR0050622 & v. CR039442)

NGIRMANG YAOCH,

Defendant and Appellant.

A jury convicted defendant Ngirmang Yaoch of two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child (one by means of rape and the other by means of sodomy) and two counts of lewd acts upon a child. The court sentenced defendant to two consecutive indefinite terms, one for each assault, with additional one-year enhancements, and two concurrent eight-year terms for the lewd acts. The court also ordered defendant to pay the victim $50,000 in noneconomic damages.

1 Defendant contends the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury on unlawful sexual intercourse as a lesser included offense of aggravated sexual assault by means of rape. He also contends he was denied his Sixth Amendment right to counsel during sentencing and challenges the consecutive terms, the one-year enhancements, and the $50,000 in noneconomic damages. And he points to two errors in the abstract of judgment. We agree there are abstract of judgment errors and accept the People’s concession that the one-year enhancements should be stricken. But we find no merit in defendant’s other contentions. We order modifications to the judgment and otherwise affirm. Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND I The Incidents In December 2021, victim was 13 years old and living with her grandmother. Defendant (age 37), a good friend of victim’s mother, had moved in with minor and grandmother the month before. Victim had known defendant for around six months. He sometimes watched movies with her and was like a friend. Victim did not notice defendant being flirtatious with her. Victim received a new Polaroid camera and wanted to use all the film, so she “came up with . . . stupid ideas like in front of the Christmas tree or . . . in the kitchen or like kind of a mustache or having a photo bomb.” She also took pictures of herself with defendant. Polaroids of defendant were found in victim’s room on her mirror. Another polaroid of defendant with victim was found in defendant’s room in the border of a computer screen. According to a statement victim made to law enforcement, defendant came into her room one evening in mid-December and “fondled her breasts, humped her, and . . .

2 did terrible things to her.” At trial, victim testified that defendant touched her upper half and her lower bottom. She did not recall reporting that humping occurred. Victim didn’t tell her grandmother about defendant’s actions “right away” because “it just seemed like just like too big of a deal to be cared about.” Two nights later, victim accepted defendant’s invitation to smoke marijuana with him in his room. After smoking, victim went back to her room and went to sleep. When she woke, she was face down on her pillows and defendant “was on top of [her] or on the back of [her].” Victim felt penetration in her butthole for a short amount of time. Then defendant tried to move her, almost pushing her off the bed. “[T]hen he got [her] back up on the bed and . . . switched [] to [her] vagina.” He didn’t say anything to victim while this was happening, but at the end, “[h]e said that he came in [her].” Victim testified that she didn’t give defendant permission to do these things and wasn’t able to push defendant off because “it felt like . . . his legs were squeezing [her] whole bottom half.” Later that day, victim told grandmother what happened, and grandmother went to law enforcement. But victim didn’t tell anyone she had been smoking marijuana with defendant because she was scared she would get in trouble. An expert found defendant’s semen in victim’s underwear. Another expert conducted a forensic medical exam of victim and made “no findings” for “abuse slash assault” because he did not see any abrasions, lacerations, or bruising. He also testified that (1) it was extremely common to conduct a sexual assault forensic exam and have no relevant findings and (2) the lack of a finding does not determine whether an assault occurred. Defendant stipulated that he was aware of victim’s age and denied ever touching her inappropriately.

3 II The Charges and the Verdict Defendant was charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child by means of rape (§§ 269, subd. (a)(1); 261, subd. (a)(2)), aggravated sexual assault of a child by means of sodomy (§§ 269, subd. (a)(3); 286, subd. (c)(2)(B)), and two counts of lewd acts upon a child under age 14 (§ 288, subd. (a)).1 As alternatives to the aggravated sexual assault counts, he was charged with rape (§ 261, subd. (a)(2)) and sodomy (§ 286, subd. (c)(2)(B)). The charges also included one-year enhancement allegations for the aggravated sexual assaults and the alternative rape and sodomy counts (§ 667.9, subd. (a)). The jury instructions on rape and sodomy included the advisement that defendant was not guilty of those offenses if he actually and reasonably believed that victim consented to his acts. The jury was also instructed on the lesser included offenses of unlawful sodomy (§ 286, subd. (b)) and simple assault (§ 240). In closing argument, defense counsel admitted that defendant had intercourse with victim, but counsel questioned whether the prosecution had proven victim’s lack of consent or defendant’s lack of a reasonable belief in victim’s consent beyond reasonable doubt. Counsel argued that victim “was more than just friends” with defendant and did not want to get in trouble for having that relationship. In support, counsel relied on: (1) victim’s delay in disclosing defendant’s lewd acts because “she didn’t think it was a big deal”; (2) her decision to smoke marijuana with defendant in his room a day or two after the lewd acts; (3) her omission of the marijuana fact from her initial accounts of the events; (4) the polaroids in defendant’s and victim’s rooms; and (5) the lack of obvious injury from victim’s forensic exam.

1 Defendant was also charged with rape of an unconscious or asleep person (§ 261, subd. (a)(4)), but the court later dismissed that charge at the prosecution’s request.

4 The jury found defendant guilty of both counts of aggravated sexual assault and both counts of lewd acts. It also found the enhancement allegations true. III Sentencing The parties stipulated to re-calendar the sentencing hearing set for May 2023 to the following month. Judge pro tempore Stephen Bradbury presided over the re- calendared hearing. The judge acknowledged that he didn’t hear the case and stated he would be relying on the information provided in the probation report and the arguments of counsel. The probation report recommended concurrent terms for the aggravated sexual assaults and one-third of the midterm for each lewd act conviction to also run concurrently. It also recommended awarding victim $25,000 for noneconomic losses while noting that no number could quantify the trauma she suffered.

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People v. Yaoch CA3, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-yaoch-ca3-calctapp-2025.