People v. Espejo CA6

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. The Offenses2 Espejo was born in 1979 and is several years older than his sisters J. Doe and K. Doe. When J. Doe was around 15 years old, she disclosed to her mother that Espejo had sexually abused her. Her mother “appeared concerned” but did not take any action. According to K. Doe, their mother told J. Doe to “forgive” Espejo, “protected [his] image and relied on him for financial support.” In 2016, their mother invited her children to her home to visit with their grandmother. All the children except K. Doe attended the gathering. This baffled J. Doe, so she sent K. Doe a message. In response, K. Doe told J. Doe that Espejo had sexually abused her. In August 2019, J. Doe submitted “a web tip” to the United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). She disclosed that Espejo had sexually abused her when she was a child, while he was home on leave from the Navy. NCIS referred the case to the San Jose Police Department. In March 2020, J. Doe told the police that the first incident of sexual abuse occurred prior to Espejo’s enlistment in the Navy. J. Doe said Espejo had digitally penetrated her vagina. Abuse of this type occurred at…