People v. Pereztale CA3

I. BACKGROUND

In October 2023, the Yuba County District Attorney’s Office filed an amended information charging defendant with one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child

1 (Pen. Code, § 288.5, subd. (a)).1 The information also alleged, pursuant to section 1203.066, subdivision (a)(8), that the victim, E.O., was under the age of 14 and defendant had substantial sexual conduct with her. A jury tried the case in November 2023, but it deadlocked, resulting in a mistrial. A second jury tried the case in May 2024. The People presented evidence that in 2023, E.O. told her mother that defendant had “been touching her” beginning when she was eight and ending when she was 12. The first incident occurred when E.O. was about seven or eight years old and living near Yuba College. Defendant, E.O., and her brother were watching TV on couches. Defendant was laying propped up on one arm, and E.O. was laying on her back next to him, with both of them under a blanket. Defendant had his arm around her and his hand resting on her hip. E.O. stated defendant’s hand was not moving at the time. However, her mother came into the room and saw defendant’s hand under the blanket moving in a circular or…