People v. Nguyen CA4/3

FACTS

Loan Do (Loan) is severely impaired and suffers from severe Down syndrome, leaving her unable to care for herself. Her primary form of communication is through grunting noises. At the time of the incident, Loan lived with her father Thuc Do (Thuc), her sister Mai Do (Mai), Mai‟s nephew Huy Nguyen (Huy) ,1 and defendant. Mai, Loan‟s primary caretaker, is defendant‟s girlfriend. When defendant moved into the residence, both Huy and a longtime family friend, Kenneth Griffith, noticed Loan‟s demeanor changed. After Griffith witnessed a suspicious incident between Loan and defendant in which he heard Loan screaming and crying followed by defendant running from her room, he and Huy installed a “nanny cam” in Loan‟s bedroom.

No relation to defendant.

2 In April 2011, Huy heard Loan make a “frightening scream” while in her bedroom, which he described as different from her “daily screams.” Upon investigating Huy found Thuc arguing with defendant outside of Loan‟s room. Thuc was demanding to know “why [his] daughter was screaming,” and “what [defendant was] doing in that area.” Suspicious, Huy reviewed the video recording to check for any wrongdoing. Huy and a police officer…