California v. Thomas

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Defendant Edward Thomas molested his daughter for 10 years, beginning when she was four or five years old. He admitted his conduct in a telephone call with his daughter and in a letter to her mother. A jury convicted defendant on nine counts of aggravated sexual assault on a child. The trial court sentenced Thomas to a total indeterminate sentence of 135 years to life. On appeal, defendant argued that there was no substantial evidence that he committed his crimes by means of force, fear, menace, or duress. Furthermore, he argued his counsel’s failure to object to the detective’s testimony about the timeline of one instance of assault constituted ineffective assistance of counsel. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the judgment, the Court of Appeal held that substantial evidence supported a finding of aggravated sexual crimes because of defendant’s ongoing physical violence against the victim. Defendant’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel failed on the merits. View "California v. Thomas" on Justia Law