People v. Garcia CA6

I. BACKGROUND

A. Prosecution’s Case 1. A.’s Testimony (counts 1-4) A., who was born in 2000, was 18 years old at the time of trial. She has three younger brothers, M., N., and J. She identified defendant as her grandfather and testified to four instances of sexual abuse. The first instance occurred when A. was 11 years old. A. was recovering from hip surgery. The recovery was painful and long, and she could not do daily living activities like get dressed or walk on her own. Defendant supervised A. and her siblings. One day, A. needed help getting out of the shower and drying herself. Defendant helped her dry off and then moved his hands to A.’s bare breasts and massaged them in a circular motion. At some point, A. was partially dressed, wearing underwear. Defendant “slowly ma[d]e his way down and then touch[ed] [A.’s] vagina and . . . thighs.” Defendant “slipped his hand under [her] underwear and started massaging and touching [her] vagina.” The second instance occurred on an occasion when A. was getting dressed. Defendant came into the room. He sat down next to her and started rubbing her thigh, arms, and body in a “caressing” or “massaging” circular motion. He then…