People v. Ewell CA1/1

I.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL

BACKGROUND

In June 2021, a few days after stepdaughter turned 13 years old, Ewell went into her bedroom early in the morning and led her to another room.

1 The underlying facts are drawn from the preliminary hearing

transcript. Because the reporter’s transcript of the plea hearing is not in our record, it is unclear what the stipulated factual basis for the plea was. Ewell removed his pants and stepdaughter’s pants and underwear before forcing her to the ground. He then “rubbed his penis against [her] vagina,” got on top of her, and “started trying to put his penis in [her] mouth.” Stepdaughter tried to keep her mouth closed, but Ewell pinched her nostrils shut so she had to open her mouth to breathe. Ewell then “put his penis so far into [stepdaughter’s] mouth that it hurt and it hit the back of her throat.” After about 10 minutes, he ejaculated in her mouth. Around the same time, stepdaughter’s mother forced her way into the room and saw her daughter and Ewell with their clothing off. He fled the home, and the incident was reported to the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department. A sheriff’s detective testified about a forensic interview of…