People v. Diaz CA1/3

BACKGROUND

In October 2022, the prosecutor charged Diaz with 28 crimes for sexually abusing Jane Doe. They included three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child by oral copulation (counts 1, 9, & 16), sexual penetration of a child under 14 (count 2), 18 counts of forcible lewd acts upon a child (counts 3-8, 10-15, 17-22), four counts of lewd acts upon a child (counts 23-26), forcible oral copulation of a minor over 14 (count 27), and sexual battery by restraint (count 28). (Pen. Code, §§ 269, subd. (a)(4), 289, subd. (a)(1)(B), 288, subds. (b)(1), (c)(1), 287, subd. (c)(2)(C), 243.4, subd. (a); undesignated statutory references are to this code.)

1 Diaz and Doe’s mother started dating when Doe was seven or eight. He and Doe got along well, and he was kind to her. He took her out a lot, including to parks and restaurants. When Doe was nine or 10, she, her mother, her younger sister, and Diaz moved into an apartment together. Doe and her younger sister shared a bedroom, and she often slept in Doe’s bed because Doe was afraid of the dark. Diaz acted as a father figure, and Doe thought of him as her father. She trusted him. Over time, he became more affectionate — hugging,…