People v. Garcia CA2/5

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Offense Conduct, as Established by the Evidence at Trial 1. Witness testimony The victim, Jocelyn, was seven years old at the time of the offense in August 2017. She was nine when she testified at trial. She lived with her mother, father, and siblings in an apartment in Long Beach, California. Defendant is Jocelyn’s father’s cousin, but she did not recall meeting him before the crimes occurred. On the evening in question, Jocelyn fell asleep watching television on a couch in the living room of her family’s apartment. She woke up to defendant carrying her out of the apartment over his shoulder. She bit and scratched defendant and told him to let her go. Defendant took her to an alley, placed her on her back, and pulled her pants down. Jocelyn testified at trial that she did not recall whether defendant touched her private parts, but she told investigators in an interview conducted the afternoon after 2 the incident (a recording of which was played at trial) that defendant touched her private parts with his hand. Defendant choked Jocelyn, and she “felt like [she] was about to die.” She screamed for help in English and…