People v. Galvarino-Gonzalez

2003 WL 21214264

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Myrna is mentally disabled. No expert testified concerning her mental abilities. At the trial, her family members described 25-year-old Myrna as childlike and 'slow.' An emergency room physician who examined her for evidence of sexual trauma thought she appeared to be mentally retarded. Myrna attended special education classes from the age of eight until she was 23, where she learned things 'like crossing streets, how to shop, how to behave.' At the prosecution's request, the court did not require Myrna to take the standard oath but rather allowed her to testify after simply promising to tell the truth. Myrna lives with her mother and three younger siblings in their Costa Mesa apartment. On a 'very warm' night in November 1999, Myrna left the apartment at around 8:00 p.m. and went to wait for her brothers in a nearby alley where it was cooler. Her mother went to check on her an hour later and could not find her. Myrna testified that D drove by in a truck with a male friend. She waved at D, and he told her to get in the truck. She said 'no,' but he 'hugged' her and lifted her into the truck. He put a seat belt on her and locked the truck door. D dropped off his friend and drove Myrna to a local motel. During the drive, he touched her arms and chest and told her he wanted to have sexual intercourse with her. She told him, 'Don't touch me,' about five times and he then stopped touching her. At the motel, D bought Myrna a soda from a machine and then led her into the motel room. He double-locked the door. He touched Myrna's breasts and vaginal area. He helped her lay down on the bed and touched her 'everywhere.' She told him to stop, but he did not listen. He tried to pull down her pants, but she resisted, holding on to them 'tight' with both hands. Despite Myrna's efforts to resist D succeeded in pulling off her pants. D attempted oral copulation and anal intercourse with Myrna and then raped her. She told him, 'Don't do it.' It was painful, and she cried. When D was finished raping Myrna, he went into the bathroom. She hid inside the closet. At some point, Myrna left the motel room, but D brought her back inside. She stated, 'He pushed me in. And he locked the door. He won't let me go out there.' They watched television together for a while. He told her he wanted to see her again, but she said 'no.' Myrna told him she did not like what had happened. D said he liked her and they were 'friends.' D told her to sit on the bed, but she did not want to. D pushed her onto the bed and 'helped' her lay down. D touched her 'everywhere' and then raped her again. She testified, 'He hurt me a lot.' After the second rape, D drove Myrna home and gave her $5.75. Her mother found her walking toward their apartment around 1:00 a.m. D was convicted of false imprisonment by violence or menace (a lesser included offense in the charged count of kidnapping to commit rape), and one count of forcible rape. D appealed.