P. v. Milum CA4/2
Orion Milum appeals his conviction and sentence on three counts of molesting his niece in 2004, when she was five years old. He contends his trial was tainted by the introduction of testimony that he molested his half sister in the early 1990s, an unadjudicated sexual offense that occurred before he turned 14. He correctly argues minors under 14 are presumed incapable of committing criminal acts, and clear Supreme Court precedent holds it is improper to allow evidence of a minor’s unadjudicated prior sexual offenses without evidence showing the minor appreciated the wrongfulness of the act. (People v. Cottone (2013) 57 Cal.4th 269, 280 (Cottone).) Milum says his conviction must be overturned because there was no such evidence and because his trial counsel was deficient in failing to object to the evidence on that basis.
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