People v. Ngissah CA3

Filed 1/4/16 P. v. Ngissah CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 (Placer) ----

THE PEOPLE, C078360

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. Nos. 62-120048 & 62-120146) v.

FRANCIS AMITEYE NGISSAH,

Defendant and Appellant.

Appointed counsel for defendant Francis Amiteye Ngissah has asked this court to review the record to determine whether there exist any arguable issues on appeal. (People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436.) We modify the judgment, direct the trial court to correct the abstract of judgment, and affirm the judgment as modified.

1

BACKGROUND Defendant created and was the president of a preparatory academy with an “elite basketball program.” He hired a coach to recruit students and obtained investors. He was also the academy’s teacher. Defendant rented and furnished a home in which the students would live. Children from around the world, including France and Brazil, were students at the academy. Between September 1, 2012, and December 31, 2012, defendant tortured and abused four of his student athletes. Defendant used plastic zip ties to tie their wrists behind their back and bind their ankles. He blindfolded some of the boys and put wooden clothespins on their nipples, squeezing and twisting until their nipples were red and sore. Defendant hit at least one of the students with a belt, leaving marks and bruises, and sometimes defendant would pinch, with his fingers, the nipples of at least one student until they were sore. Some of this abuse was done for defendant’s sexual gratification. To keep the students in the academy, defendant threatened them and restricted their access to the Internet and telephones, limiting their ability to talk to their families. In May 2012, while preparing for the academy to open, defendant purchased over $7,000 worth of furniture from a single store. Before the credit card payment was finalized, defendant created a fraudulent bank statement to show to his credit card company, indicating the store received payment for the furniture. He then disputed the charges with his credit card company and the charges were reversed, leaving defendant in possession of furniture for which he did not pay. Then, in October 2012, defendant used a former employee’s blank check, along with the employee’s personal identifying information, without his permission, to purchase more than $300 of goods at a warehouse store. Defendant used another person’s check, without his permission, to pay one of his employees $700.