People v. Baldwin CA3

Filed 2/4/16 P. v. Baldwin CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 (El Dorado) ----

THE PEOPLE, C078056

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. P13CRF0335)

v.

EARL ROBERT BALDWIN,

Defendant and Appellant.

Defendant Earl Robert Baldwin was convicted of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 (Pen. Code, § 288.5; unless otherwise stated statutory references that follow are to the Penal Code) and was found to have had substantial sexual conduct with the victim (§ 1203.066, subd. (a)(8)). Defendant’s sole contention on appeal is that the trial court erred in admitting his adult stepdaughter’s testimony as propensity evidence. (Evid. Code, § 1108.) We affirm the judgment.

1

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

Defendant molested the victim, his granddaughter, from the time she was four until she was seven years old. When the victim was about three, she and her younger brother moved in with defendant and his wife. Defendant and his wife became their legal guardians. The victim, nine at the time of trial, testified that starting when she was four, defendant would touch her vagina and anus using his hand and penis. He did it as they sat on the couch or reclining chair, watching TV in the master bedroom. He also touched her when she was in bed with him; she would sometimes get in bed with her grandparents after she had a nightmare or wet the bed (both frequent occurrences). The victim testified the touching happened every day, and the grandmother was always in a different room when it happened. The molestation finally stopped when one evening the victim, then seven, told her grandmother that her bottom hurt, “where papa touches me.” She then told her grandmother about the touching and that she wanted it to stop. The victim asked for a family meeting that night. At the meeting with her grandparents, the victim told defendant: “Papa, I want you to stop doing that thing.” She added: “Papa, you know, when you put your hand in my underwear and rub your penis against me, I don’t like it, it doesn’t feel good.” Defendant, who was sitting on the bed, said nothing; he then got up, went to the bathroom, and dry heaved for several minutes. That night, defendant’s wife asked if it was true; defendant “wouldn’t say yes or no.” His wife recalled defendant saying something to the effect of, “don’t worry about it, my life is over, just do whatever you need to do for the kids” and “I’m not going to say [the victim] is wrong, just go ahead with whatever [the victim] is telling you.” Later that night he said, “[I]f I had a gun, I would shoot myself.”