People v. Hernandez CA6

I. BACKGROUND

On June 10, 2021, the district attorney charged Hernandez with a single felony count of a lewd act upon a child (Pen. Code, § 288, subd. (a) [count 1]). At trial, the prosecution presented the following evidence. Jane Doe was born in January 2008. She has three sisters, one older and two younger. Hernandez, who was Doe’s mother’s boyfriend, has a daughter and a son from a prior relationship, both of whom are older than Doe, and is also the biological father of Doe’s two younger sisters. At the time of the incident underlying the charge, in October 2020, Doe lived at her aunt’s house in Watsonville because her family had lost their home a few months earlier. Prior to the incident, Hernandez would sometimes ask for kisses on the cheek or hugs from Doe and she did not appreciate this because she did not feel close enough to him. Nevertheless, she felt compelled to do what he asked “[b]ecause he was an authority figure.” On October 19, 2020, Doe and her family spent the night at the house of Hernandez’s daughter from his prior relationship. Doe slept on a bed in one room. Her mother, three siblings, and Hernandez slept in the same room; her sisters were on the bed…