People v. Moreno-Perez CA4/3

FACTS

Alma C. was born and raised in Mexico. In June 2001, Alma moved to Garden Grove to live with her aunt and she got a job distributing flyers. She did not speak English at the time. In November of that year, 19-year-old Alma finished working at 6:00 p.m. and waited at a bus stop in the City of Orange. There was a pharmacy behind the bus stop. At the time, the sun had set and the only light came from the pharmacy. While Alma waited at the bus stop, a man driving a van stopped to talk to her. She ignored him, and he drove away. The man drove by again, but he did not stop or say anything. The next thing she knew, the man approached her and was standing beside her at the bus stop. The man was Hispanic and looked to be about her age. He got close to her and asked her in Spanish if she wanted a ride. She said, “No.” The man said she should not think ill of him, “that he was only going to give [her] a ride.” She again refused because she did not know him. He said his name was “Raul.” Moreno-Perez was insistent and “kept on telling [her] that he was going to give [her] a ride.” Alma continued to decline because she did not know him. Frightened by his persistence, she looked at the…