People v. Valiente CA1/5

Filed 3/18/21 P. v. Valiente CA1/5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FIVE

THE PEOPLE, A159455 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Solano County v. Super. Ct. No. VCR232201) ALEXANDER GALVEZ VALIENTE, Defendant and Appellant.

Alexander Galvez Valiente appeals his conviction for two counts of lewd acts on a child under the age of 14 (Pen. Code, § 288, subd. (a)), contending that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions. Because his appeal lacks merit, we affirm. BACKGROUND Valiente’s convictions are based on two incidents involving his niece, M.H. When she was in her twenties, M.H. reported that Valiente had molested her when she was a child. The incidents occurred at a house in Vallejo, California (“Vallejo house”) where Valiente had resided, and where M.H. attended family gatherings and occasionally slept overnight. In addition to Valiente, M.H.’s aunt and grandparents resided in the home.

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According to M.H., in one of the incidents (the living room incident), Valiente approached her when she was laying on her stomach in the living room at the Vallejo house, watching cartoons one morning after having slept over. M.H. was wearing pink pajamas with flowers on them, and Valiente was wearing olive green plaid pajama pants. Valiente flipped her over onto her back by grabbing her torso on the sides of her stomach, and then lay on top of her, thrusting his penis against her vaginal area through her clothes. She felt Valiente’s body weight on top of hers and felt a lot of pressure from his penis against her vagina. Because it hurt, M.H. said “owe,” and Valiente stopped and got off of her. The incident lasted for about a minute. M.H. testified inconsistently about her age when the incident happened, stating at various points that she was six, seven, or eight at the time. In the other incident (the sleeping bag incident), M.H. had slept overnight in a sleeping bag on the floor of the master bedroom of the Vallejo house. After her aunt woke up and left the room, Valiente got into M.H.’s sleeping bag behind her, in a spooning position. The two were laying on their left sides. Valiente brushed his right hand along M.H.’s body, from her right calf to her hip to her vagina. He touched her vagina through her clothes for a few seconds. M.H. was between the ages of seven and ten at the time. Valiente testified at trial and denied the allegations. After the jury returned guilty verdicts, the trial court sentenced Valiente to a total of eight years in prison, suspended the sentence, and placed Valiente on three years of probation. The court sentenced Valiente to serve 364 days in custody and imposed $1,070 in fines and fees.