People v. Jimenez

Convicted on 15 counts of sexually molesting three victims over a two-year period, Jimenez was sentenced to an indeterminate term of 175 years to life in prison and a determinate term of four years four months; the sentence included seven consecutive terms of 25 years to life on seven counts, Some of his victims were younger than 14 years of age. The court of appeal affirmed the convictions but remanded for resentencing, rejecting arguments that the prosecution committed misconduct in closing argument by stating Jimenez was no longer presumed innocent and shifting the burden of proof to the defense and erred by admitting a note that one of the victims had written to her mother disclosing the sexual abuse. The court also rejected claims of ineffective assistance of counsel and cumulative prejudice in connection with these claims and that the evidence was insufficient to support convictions on two counts of forcible lewd acts because the evidence failed to prove he used force or duress. The trial court erred by imposing terms of 25 years to life based on sentencing enhancements based on the victims' ages, that the prosecution failed to plead. View "People v. Jimenez" on Justia Law