In re Z.H. CA3

BACKGROUND

I. In September 2022, the district attorney filed a petition alleging that Z.H. violated Penal Code section 288, subdivisions (a) and (b)(1) in the summer of 2021, when he was 16 years old. According to the police report, the minor victim, who was 13 years old and a friend of Z.H.’s sister, was spending the night at their house. The minor victim went into a room with two twin beds and laid down on one of them. Z.H. came in and sat on the other bed. He grabbed the minor victim’s hand and pulled her toward him. She tried to pull away but was not strong enough. Z.H. tried to get the minor victim to kiss him, but she said no. Z.H. then grabbed her hand, put it down his pants, and moved it up and down his penis until he ejaculated. Police arrested Z.H. in November 2022, and the juvenile court ordered him detained in juvenile hall. The court also ordered a report prepared pursuant to Penal Code section 288.1 regarding Z.H.’s mental condition. Shortly thereafter, the district attorney filed a subsequent petition alleging that Z.H. had committed additional offenses, including robbery (Pen. Code, § 211), assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury (Pen.…