People v. Barrientos CA2/4

INTRODUCTION

In 2017, appellant Alfonso Barrientos met someone he thought was a 16-year-old girl online and arranged to have sex with her. The girl was in fact a police decoy. Appellant pled no contest to meeting a minor for lewd purposes in violation of Penal Code section 288.4, subdivision (b),1 which required him to register as a sex offender under section 290. In 2021, the superior court terminated appellant’s probation early, but denied his motion to terminate the registration requirement. On appeal, appellant poses an equal protection challenge to section 290, asserting that registration for certain sex offenders is discretionary, and he should not be subject to mandatory registration because he did not interact with a real minor. We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

According to appellant, in January 2017 he was “searching for adult companionship on an adult site called Backpage.” Appellant, then age 47, responded to an ad by “Mandy,” who was purportedly 19 years old. However, “Mandy” soon told appellant she was 16, about to turn 17. Appellant replied, “Oh good, you are younger. I love it.” However, “Mandy” was a police decoy. When appellant arrived at the motel…