Pelayo

Juan Manuel Pelayo and Hilario B. Pelayo appeal judgments of conviction of committing sexual offenses against two children. Juan asserts the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction of rape with a foreign object. Hilario contends that excluding certain evidence and prohibiting references to newspaper articles in closing argument denied him a fair trial. The People contend the trial court erred in the calculation of the sentences imposed upon appellants. We affirm the judgments and remand for resentencing.

Procedural History

Appellants were charged with the crime of committing lewd acts on two children under fourteen years old, Nelida and Amber. (Pen. Code, § 288, subd. (a).) They were also charged with acting in concert to rape Nelida with a foreign object (§§ 264.1, 289) and with acting in concert to forcibly rape Amber. (§§261, subd. (a)(2), 264.1.)

The jury found appellants guilty of committing lewd acts upon Amber and Nelida and of raping Nelida with a foreign object while acting in concert and of forcibly raping Amber while acting in concert. Appellants were each sentenced to prison for 18 years.

Facts

Amber and Nelida were 12 and 10 years old when…