People v. Belmares CA3

Filed 3/25/26 P. v. Belmares CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, C103957

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 19FE015430)

v.

JARED BELMARES,

Defendant and Appellant.

In 2022, defendant Jared Belmares was convicted of multiple counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child. On direct appeal, the case was remanded for resentencing to include consideration of Penal Code section 1170, subdivision (b)(6).1 On remand, the

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

Section 1170 contains a presumption in favor of the low term if certain mitigating circumstances were “a contributing factor in the commission of an offense,” including suffering childhood trauma and youth (below 26 years old) at the time of the crimes.

1

trial court sentenced defendant to 25 years in prison, which included the upper term on the principal count. Disagreeing with defendant’s claim of error, we affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Defendant, his younger brother David, and their mother provided daycare for the victim and her sister (and others) five days a week at their mother’s home. The victim testified that, starting when she was about six years old, defendant on 10 or 20 different occasions over the course of one to two years made her put her hand on his penis and move it up and down. Each incident took place in defendant’s bedroom. Defendant was about 21 years old when the incidents started. The victim and her sister also testified that David forced them to engage in sexual acts with him. There was also uncharged evidence that defendant and David had molested other girls. In April 2022, a jury found defendant guilty of four counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14 by force or fear. (§ 288, subd. (b)(1); counts 10-13.) The jury found true that defendant had substantial sexual conduct with the victim, who was younger than 14 years old. (§ 1203.066, subd. (a)(8).) The jury also found true the following aggravating factors: (1) the crime involved great violence or other acts disclosing a high degree of cruelty (2) the victim was particularly vulnerable, (3) the crimes involved planning or sophistication, and (4) defendant took advantage of a position of trust. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 4.421(a)(1), (3), (8), & (11).)2 The probation report noted that defendant’s Static-99R score was two, meaning his relative risk to reoffend was average. There were two mitigating circumstances: (1) no criminal history and (2) youth, as defendant was under 26 years old at the time of the