People v. Newell CA3

FACTS

In 2006, defendant lived with his girlfriend, L.E., in Sacramento. During a week- long period that summer, while babysitting L.E.’s 3 granddaughters, defendant sexually abused 2 of the girls, one 7 years old and the other 10 years old.3 The specific details of

Defendant was acquitted of 5 additional counts of lewd or lascivious conduct, one alleged to have been committed against the 7-year-old victim (but 6 years later when she was 13 years old (Count 3)), and 4 alleged to have been committed against his girlfriend’s foster son (6 to 8 years before the offenses of conviction were committed (Counts 6-9)). The third granddaughter was two years old at the time and denied she was ever abused by defendant.

2 defendant’s crimes are not important to our resolution of this appeal. For our purposes, it will suffice to state he touched each girl’s breasts and buttocks multiple times while alone with them during this week-long time period. The abuse came to light in 2012, when L.E.’s foster son, A.D., accused defendant of sexually abusing him between 1998 and 2000.4 A.D. told his foster sister, M.D., who was one of L.E.’s biological daughters, about this alleged abuse,…