People v. Crownover

KNIGHT, J.

The defendant was found guilty by a jury of violating section 288 of the Penal Code; and he has appealed from the judgment of conviction.

The lewd and lascivious acts charged were committed in San Francisco on a boy whose home was in Portland, Oregon. He had wandered to San Francisco in company with an older brother and another boy, and shortly after his arrival, while alone on the street, was accosted by the defendant, and several days later induced to make his home with defendant at his living quarters in a rooming house on Sixth Street. About a month later, while they were so living together, they were taken into custody by the police. In addition to the accusatory testimony given by the boy, the officer making the arrest testified that at the time thereof defendant confessed he had been carrying on degenerate practices with the boy.

There is no complaint made that the defendant was not given a fair trial, nor is it claimed that the jury was not justified in finding from the evidence that he committed the lewd and lascivious acts charged against him. As sole ground for reversal it is contended that “there is no evidence that the complaining witness was under the age of fourteen years at the time of the alleged crime.” There is no merit in the point.

[9]

In cases of sex crimes committed on children, the age of the child may be established by the child’s own testimony (22 Oal. Jur. 381); and here the boy, after being sworn as a witness, was interrogated as to his age, schooling, and understanding of the nature of the oath he had taken to tell the truth; and in response to the question “How old are you ’ ’, he replied, ‘ ‘ I am thirteen years old. I will be fourteen October 18th”. The testimony so given by him is therefore legally sufficient to sustain the jury’s implied finding on this issue. Later on, according to the reporter’s transcript, in answer to a question asked on cross-examination, he is purported to have given the date of his birth as “the 24th, the 24th of October, 1918”. But this single answer does not serve as ground for reversal. At most it merely conflicted with the boy’s previous statement as to his age; and it is well settled that the general rule governing reviewing courts in dealing with appeals involving a conflict of testimony applies with the same force to eases where the conflict arises from the testimony of one witness as it does to cases where the conflict arises from the testimony of witnesses on opposing sides.