People v. Ah Lean

COOPER, P. J.

The defendant is charged in the indictment with the crime of rape, in having had sexual intercourse on the eighth day of October, 1905, with one Lillie Ida Davis, an unmarried female under the age of sixteen years. A trial was had before a jury, and the jury returned a verdict of guilty, with a recommendation of the defend

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ant to the mercy of the court, and judgment was thereupon entered, sentencing the defendant to a term of eight years in the state prison. This appeal is from the judgment and from an order denying the defendant’s motion for a new trial. The facts and .circumstances surrounding this case, and the character of the girl, Lillie Ida Davis, are fully set forth in

People

v.

Fong Chung,

5 Cal. App. 587, [91 Pac. 105], a ease in which the defendant there was charged with rape upon the same girl on the twenty-sixth day of September, 1905, and such facts and circumstances need not be here repeated. In the record of this case at least some of the matters held to be error in the Pong Chung case are repeated.

The prosecution called Dr. McMahon, who testified that he examined the girl on the twenty-fourth day of October, 1905, and found at that time that she had venereal, chancroids, which appeared to be about twelve days’ old. As this referred to a time only sixteen days after the alleged rape, it is apparent that the object, and the only object, of the testimony was to give the jury the impression that the venereal disease was contracted by the girl from the defendant. The testimony certainly did not tend to prove the age of the girl, nor the fact that the defendant had had sexual intercourse with her unless it had been proven that on the eighth day of October, 1905, the defendant had a venereal disease.

Dr. Cothran testified in behalf of the defendant that the day before the trial he examined the defendant, and that he did not have any venereal disease, and that if he had had chancroids or venereal warts at any time within the prior three months he would have been able to detect signs of such disease, but that he found no signs of any venereal troubles of any kind.