People v. Torres Vera CA3

BACKGROUND

A. Torres Vera’s Underlying Conviction and Original Sentence2 Torres Vera’s daughter testified that he began molesting her when she was four or five years old. The daughter of Torres Vera’s girlfriend testified that he sexually abused her as well. On the counts alleging crimes against Torres Vera’s daughter, the jury found Torres Vera guilty of lewd and lascivious acts upon a child under the age of 14 years (§ 288, subd. (a)), committing lewd and lascivious acts by use of force or fear (§ 288, subd. (b)), and aggravated sexual assault of a child (§ 269, subd. (a)(4)). The jury found true the allegation that Torres Vera had substantial sexual contact with a child under 14 years of age (§ 1203.066, subd. (a)(8)). On the counts alleging crimes against the daughter of Torres Vera’s girlfriend, the jury found Torres Vera guilty of committing lewd and lascivious acts upon a child under the age of 14 years (§ 288, subd. (a)). The trial court sentenced Torres Vera to an aggregate determinate term of 48 years in prison consecutive to an indeterminate term of 15 years to life. B. Appeal and Resentencing Following the jury trial in 2021, Torres Vera appealed to this court raising…