People v. Taylor

BARNARD, P. J. The defendant was charged with violating section 288 of the Penal Code by performing certain described acts upon and with a boy of the age of 12 years, and in a second count with violating the Juvenile Court Law by contributing to the delinquency of this minor by doing certain other acts. A jury found him not guilty of the charge of violating section 288 of the Penal Code and guilty of the contributing charge. Prom the judgment entered he has appealed.

Prom the evidence for the prosecution it appears that the boy in question was selling magazines in Newport Beach on June 22, 1937; that the appellant, who was a real estate agent, came along in an automobile and asked him where Costa Mesa was; that the boy lived in Costa Mesa and the appellant asked him to ride there with him, which he did; that the boy showed the appellant the house where he lived, but the appellant asked him to ride further with him; that the appellant drove over some country roads and, after showing the boy some land which he stated that a man wanted to have sold, finally stopped the ear and the events involved in the first count of the information there took place; that [527]the appellant then took the boy to a place near his home; and that he then asked the boy what magazine he was selling and on being told it was the Saturday Evening Post the appellant bought one, giving the boy a dime and telling him to keep the change. Two or three days later the appellant, in the same car, again approached this boy and asked him to take a ride, which he refused to do. At that time the boy was Avith his brother and after the appellant left he told the brother what had occurred a few days before. The boys went home and told their mother and she advised them to watch and get the license number of the ear. A few days later, while in company with his two brothers, the boy in question again saw the appellant driving the same car. The appellant addressed the boy by his first name and asked if he was still selling magazines and receiving a negative answer offered the boy a ride, which was refused. While this conversation was going on one of the brothers went behind the ear and wrote the license number on the ground with a stick. The boys went home and gave the license number to their mother, Avho wrote it on a piece of paper. This was turned over to the officers and through that number the residence of the appellant AATas found. The boys were taken there by the officers and identified the appellant and the car as the person and car they had previously seen. Before that time the boys had given the officers a good description of the appellant and of the car.