People v. Espino CA4/3

INTRODUCTION

Defendant Jose Alfredo Espino appeals from the judgment of conviction after a jury found him guilty of several counts arising from his molestation of his two young daughters J. and Y. The jury also found true attendant multiple victims sentencing enhancement allegations. We reject Espino’s contentions of error and affirm the judgment of conviction. Substantial evidence supports his convictions on two counts of committing a lewd or lascivious act against J.; defendant does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions for crimes committed against Y. Sufficient evidence, therefore, also supports the jury’s true finding on the multiple victims sentencing enhancement allegations. Espino’s contentions of evidentiary and instructional error regarding evidence pertaining to the Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome (CSAAS) are also without merit.

FACTS

In July 2017, Espino lived with his girlfriend N., Espino’s children with N., N.’s daughter, and Espino’s former romantic partner M., and Espino and M.’s two daughters, nine-year-old Y. and eight-year-old J., and their seven-year-old son, Jo. On July 18, 2017, Espino was home alone with Y.,…