People v. V.A. CA1/2

BACKGROUND

In May 2013, appellant pleaded guilty to one count of lewd or lascivious conduct upon a child under the age of 14 years by use of force (Pen. Code, § 288, subd. (b)(1)) and two counts of inducing a minor to use a controlled substance (Health & Saf. Code, § 11353), and he was sentenced to 17 years in prison. On December 23, 2023, appellant was released on parole. On January 30, 2024, the Division of Adult Parole Operations filed a petition for revocation (citing Pen. Code, §§ 3000.08, 1203.2) alleging appellant had not registered as a sex offender. A probable cause hearing on the petition was held on February 7, 2024. At the outset, the deputy district attorney stated, “I think we’re not in the complete end of our investigation,” and “I think there is a technical violation, but there’s other extenuating circumstances.” The trial court responded that it had “no options,” and, “The only thing the Court can do is hold a probable cause hearing. If there is a [sic] probable cause, then he is remanded to the Department of Corrections for a[n] actual parole hearing.” The trial court was unequivocal that the hearing it was about to conduct was “not a parole violation hearing”…