People v. Dominguez CA4/1

INTRODUCTION

Santiago Maldonado Dominguez was arrested after Jane Doe, his stepdaughter’s 13-year-old friend, accused him of massaging her breasts with Vicks VapoRub and attempting to rub it near her “private areas” during a sleepover with her friend at his apartment. A jury found Dominguez guilty of two counts of committing a lewd act

on a child under the age of 14. (Pen. Code,1 § 288, subd. (a); counts 1 and 2.)2 The trial court sentenced Dominguez to a six-year term for count 1 and a concurrent six-year term for count 2. Dominguez asserts three contentions of error on appeal. First, he contends the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the statements he made to a detective during a pre-arrest interview. Second, he argues the record lacks sufficient evidence of intent to support his convictions. Finally, he insists the trial court abused its discretion in denying probation. We disagree and therefore affirm the judgment.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. Prosecution Doe met K., Dominguez’s stepdaughter, when they both were in fifth grade, and they became close friends. Doe described K. as being “like my sister.” About a year later, she met K.’s family and…