People v. Garcia CA3

BACKGROUND

A Because we reverse defendant’s conviction due to trial court error during jury deliberations, only a relatively brief recitation of the factual background of the case is necessary. Born in November 2002, Doe spent most of his childhood living with his father in a two-bedroom, apartment.1 Defendant, Doe’s father’s best friend, visited the apartment often. The two men regularly smoked marijuana and played video games in the living room. Doe testified that, starting when he was about six years old, defendant sexually molested him “almost every time” defendant came to the apartment. Defendant would enter Doe’s bedroom, have Doe lie down on his stomach, place one hand on Doe’s back to hold him down, and place his other hand inside Doe’s pants and underwear, touching Doe’s vagina. Around the time Doe turned 11, the molestations were less frequent; they ceased altogether when Doe was 13, because defendant stopped coming to the apartment after a dispute between defendant and Doe’s father. In addition to Doe, other witnesses for the prosecution at trial included: (i) Doe’s best friend, who testified that—several years before the December 2019 trial—Doe told her about…