P. v. Herrera CA1/2
A jury convicted Melvin Herrera of 57 counts of sexual assault against his stepdaughters—55 counts against Jane Doe 1 and two counts against her little sister, Jane Doe 2. The charges include 2 counts of lewd act on a child under 14 (Pen. Code, § 288, subd. (a) ), 32 counts of forcible lewd act on a child under 14 (§ 288, subd. (b)(1)), 22 counts of rape and forcible oral copulation of a child under 14 (§ 269, subd. (a)(1)), and a single count of lewd conduct with a child of 14 or 15 (§ 288, subd. (c)(1)). On appeal, Herrera challenges the admission at trial of expert testimony discussing child sexual assault accommodation syndrome (“accommodation syndrome”), and the jury instruction allowing the jury to consider this testimony in evaluating the girls’ credibility. He also challenges evidentiary rulings the court made during cross-examination of Jane Doe 1 that, he argues, effectively prevented him from eliciting her motive falsely to accuse him of molestation. Finally,
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