People v. Roman CA1/2

INTRODUCTION

In the middle of trial on an amended information charging defendant Jowy Omar Roman (defendant or Jowy) with numerous sex offenses against his minor child and related enhancements, and after his child and wife had testified concerning uncharged out-of-state conduct, Jowy1 entered no contest pleas to the charged sex offenses outside the presence of the jury. The trial proceeded on the sole remaining count for assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, count 29.

Because they share the same last name, we refer to defendant and his

wife by their first names, Jowy and Mayuko. We refer to the complaining witness, who was 19 at the time of trial, as Doe to protect Doe’s privacy.

1 The court instructed the jury that the sex offense counts (1 through 28)2 were no longer before it and that jurors must not speculate as to the reasons. The trial resumed, with the prosecution offering testimony in support of the assault charge. On the assault charge, the court instructed the jury it could consider evidence it had heard regarding uncharged sex offenses Jowy committed on the child before the family moved to California. Prior to Jowy’s change of plea, that evidence had…