People v. Latifi CA3

Filed 10/18/24 P. v. Latifi CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Sacramento) ----

THE PEOPLE, C098612

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 21FE005325)

v.

KAREEM LATIFI,

Defendant and Appellant.

A jury convicted defendant Kareem Latifi of three counts of lewd acts upon a child in violation of section 288, subdivision (a) of the Penal Code (unless otherwise stated, statutory section citations that follow are found in the Penal Code) and one count of lewd acts upon a child with force or violence in violation of section 288, subdivision (b)(1). He appeals and argues there was insufficient evidence of force or duress to support the conviction of a lewd act by force. He additionally contends the trial court erred in imposing a full, separate, and consecutive sentence on one of the counts pursuant to

1

section 667.6, which the People concede. We remand the matter for a full resentencing and otherwise affirm the judgment.

FACTS AND HISTORY OF THE PROCEEDINGS Defendant, his wife, and their daughter, moved into an apartment when the daughter was six years old. The victim, who attended the same school as the daughter, lived next door with her family, including her mother, father, and three siblings. The two girls became best friends, and they played together daily. The families also became friendly. By 2019, when the victim was seven years old, she played with the daughter at defendant’s apartment about four times a week. During 2020, defendant and his wife also babysat the victim when she participated in remote learning and her mother was at work. When the victim came over, defendant would regularly join the girls in play, while defendant’s wife would stay in their bedroom with the door closed.

Count One

One time, defendant was playing hide-and-seek with his daughter while the victim was on the couch playing games on the daughter’s phone. Defendant’s wife was in their bedroom with the door closed. While the daughter was hiding in the bathroom, defendant knelt on the floor next to the victim as he counted to 10 for hide-and-seek. Defendant had pulled down the victim’s pants and underwear. Between counts, defendant put his mouth on the victim’s genitals. The victim felt unsafe and threatened, although the victim could not remember the words defendant used that made her feel that way. After defendant counted to 10, he pulled back up the victim’s underwear and pants and left to find his daughter. The victim told her little sister what had happened, and the sister stopped going over to defendant’s home. At a different point during the hide-and-seek game, the victim was hiding alone under the covers in a bed, when defendant grabbed her head and put his mouth on hers