Quintana

Joe Quintana was convicted by a court of foreign object penetration of a minor who was under age 14 and more than 10 years younger than he (Pen. Code, § 289, subd. (j)), and was sentenced to the low term of three years in state prison. He argues that the judgment must be reversed because: (1) there was no substantial evidence of vaginal penetration; or (2) he was unlawfully coerced into waiving his right to a jury trial. In the published portion of this opinion we hold that the Penal Code section 289, subdivision (k)(l) definition of “sexual penetration” as “penetration, however slight, of the genital . . . opening[]” refers to penetration of the labia majora, rather than penetration of the vagina. This conclusion and others lead us to affirm the judgment.

I. Background

The incident occurred on November 25, 1998. The victim, five-year-old Jade E., testified at the preliminary hearing that she and appellant were on the couch in his house watching a movie when he touched her with his hand between her legs. She said that he touched her on the outside of her panties and that it hurt when he did so. She said that he kept his fingers still and did not move them. She went…