People v. Smith

Defendant appeals from a judgment of conviction of the crime denounced by section 288a of the Penal Code of the state of California, with which he was charged by an information filed by the district attorney of Ventura County. The victim of the alleged unlawful conduct of the defendant was a lad of the age of seven years.

The grounds upon which the appellant urges a reversal of the judgment are, stated in brief, as follows:

We do not deem it necessary to present a recital of the evidence relating to the offense, or the detailed testimony bearing on the question as to whether or not the confession was voluntary. We have carefully examined the voluminous transcript of the evidence adduced at the trial, and have concluded that there are no reversible errors appearing in the record. We will therefore briefly refer to such matters which we feel should be discussed in this opinion.

The defendant testified that while he was incarcerated in the city jail after his arrest, the father of the boy, who was the chief of police of the city of Oxnard, and in whose custody the defendant then was, promised he would not prosecute him for the offense if he would admit that he “did it.” Defendant…