People v. Maldonado CA2/6

Filed 4/2/14 P. v. Maldonado CA2/6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SIX

THE PEOPLE, 2d Crim. No. B243450 (Super. Ct. No. 2010018469) Plaintiff and Respondent, (Ventura County)

v.

JOE RICHARD MALDONADO,

Defendant and Appellant.

Joe Richard Maldonado appeals from a judgment after conviction by jury of numerous sex offenses committed upon six adolescent males: oral copulation of an unconscious person (count 1 [Erik G.], Pen. Code, § 288a, subd. (f)(1)1; oral copulation of a person under 18 (counts 2 [Erik G.], 32 [Michael R.], 33 [Michael R.], 34 [Michael R.], 35 [Michael R.], § 288a, subd. (b)(1)); luring (count 3 [Erik G.], § 288.4, subd. (b)); lewd act on a child (counts 4 [Vincent B.], 5 [Vincent B.], 6 [Vincent B.], 37 [Chris B.], 38 [Chris B.], § 288, subd. (a)); sodomy of a person under 16 (counts 7 [Vincent B.], 8 [Vincent B.], 11 [Vincent B.], 26 [Michael R.], 28 [Michael R.], § 286, subd. (b)(2)); anal penetration by a foreign object (counts 9 [Vincent B.], 10 [Vincent B.], § 289, subd. (h)); oral copulation of a person under 16 (counts 12 [Vincent B.], 13 [Vincent B.], 14 [Vincent B.], 15 [Vincent B.], 16 [Salvador M.], 20

1 All statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise stated.

[Salvador M.], 21 [Salvador M.], 22 [Salvador M.], 27 [Michael R.], 31 [Michael R.], 39 [Chris B.], 40 [Chris B.], 41 [Chris B.], 43 [Chris B.], § 288a, subd. (b)(2)); attempted sodomy of a person under 16 (counts 17 [Salvador M.], 23 [Salvador M.], §§ 286, subd. (b)(2), 664); luring (counts 18 [Salvador M.], 24 [Chad D.], 25 [Michael R.], 36 [Chris B.], § 288.3, subd. (a)); lewd act on a child (count 19 [Salvador M.], 42 [Chris B.], § 288, subd. (c)(1)); and sodomy of a person under 18 (counts 29 [Michael R.], 30 [Michael R.], § 286, subd. (b)(1)). On counts for lewd acts on a child (counts 4, 5, 6, 37, and 38 [Vincent B. and Chris B.], § 288, subd. (a)), the jury found that Maldonado had substantial sexual contact with a victim under the age of 14 (§ 1203.066, subd. (a)(8)) and had committed crimes against multiple victims (§ 667.61, subd. (b) & (e)(4)). The trial court sentenced Maldonado to a cumulative determinate term of 29 years in state prison and an indeterminate term of 75 years to life. Maldonado contends that the trial court abused its discretion when it admitted evidence of other sexual offenses found on his computers and other devices and that the impact of this evidence prevented the jury from considering that Vincent B. and Chris B. may not have been under the age of 14 when Maldonado committed lewd acts upon them. We affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND When Maldonado was 26 and 27 years old, he engaged in sexual conduct with adolescent family friends, often in exchange for money or gifts. A pretextual call led to Maldonado's arrest after a victim reported him to law enforcement officials. In a police interview, Maldonado admitted most of the charged conduct, but said that these were incidents of "joking" and "daring" and that he was not interested in doing things that were "gay." Each of his victims testified against him at trial. Vincent B. and Chris B. testified that they were under the age of 14 years when Maldonado committed lewd acts upon them, but there were some inconsistencies in their statements concerning the dates of these acts.