Briggs

The defendant George Briggs was convicted by a jury of a violation of the provisions of section 288 of the Penal Code. He made a motion for a new trial. The motion was denied and from the order denying a new trial and from the judgment of conviction he prosecutes this appeal.

The complaining witness was Edith Eifert, a girl of thirteen years of age. She and her sister, Iola Eifert, aged twelve years, had been in the care and custody of the defend ant and his wife for three years, when this charge against defendant was made. They were placed there by their father, in whose custody they had been awarded by the superior court.

The defendant was convicted solely upon the testimony of these two girls. Edith testified that defendant committed the lewd and lascivious acts complained of at 7:30 P. M., on a Saturday evening, in the month of January, 1931 (the exact date she could not recall), in defendant’s bed, in his home at No. 3069 Fifth Avenue, in the city of Sacramento, in the presence of her sister Iola and defendant’s wife, who were also at the time occupying the same bed; in other words, said four above-mentioned persons were all occupying the same bed when the lewd and…