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People v. McGowan (Cal. Ct. App. - March 10, 2008)

By Shaun Martin

Let me give you a running commentary of my thought process as I read this one:

"On the morning of March 19, 2006, defendant was partying in his house with C.G., B.M., and two other gentlemen. . . ."

Okay, not so bad. A little relaxation. Good friends. Seems fine.

"The group was drinking Southern Comfort, mixed cocktails of brandy and coke, and beer. . . ."

Whoa. Slow down a little, my friends. That Southern Comfort stuff can get wicked.

"The group were also smoking marijuana. . . ."

Not great to add to the mix. It's sounding more like a Court of Appeal case now.

"As they drank, the group danced to music. . . ."

Geeky, perhaps, but no crime there.

"C.G. did something similar to a lap dance, but with her clothes on, in front of the men. . . ."

Oh no. Please don't have this go where I think it's going.

"At this point, C.G. began to feel numb and lay down on her stomach on the floor in the living room of defendant?s home. As she lay on the floor . . . ."

Darn it. That's what I feared. Conclusion:

"On September 14, 2006, the jury found defendant guilty of sexual penetration by foreign object by use of force (§ 289, subd. (a)(1)) and guilty of the lesser included offense of misdemeanor sexual battery (§ 243.4, subd. (a).) On October 27, 2006, the trial court sentenced defendant to three years in state prison."

And rightly so.

Full post as published by California Appellate Report on March 10, 2008 (boomark / email).