People v. Vasquez CA2/1

Background

Melissa M. met defendant Vasquez (who she believed was born in 1976) at a party at the end of 1994. In October 1996, when Vasquez was 19, they had a baby, M. M. was 16 years old and in the 12th grade at the time of the trial. Vasquez lived in a room in his family’s garage. M. testified that she had lived on the same block and had been a close friend of the alleged victim, Nina, until they were in middle school.2 One day, when M. and Nina were around 5 or 6 years old, after playing in the sprinklers in the front of Vasquez’s parents house she and Nina went to the side of the garage where the door to Vasquez’s room was open. When they were inside, Vasquez (M.’s father) told them to take off their bathing suits, which they did. M. saw Nina lying on the bed, naked, with Vasquez lying on top of her. His shirt was on, but she did not recall whether he had taken his basketball shorts off, and she did not see their body movements.

1 Further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise specified. 2 We refer to witnesses who share last names with other witnesses by their given names.

2 After a few minutes Nina got up and they put on their bathing suits. They…