Jury Instruction was Correct in Child Molestation Case

A recent California Court of Appeals case, People v. Shaw, held that a jury instruction that instructed the jury to convict if the defendant had tendencies towards children as a class was correct, despite the defendant’s contentions otherwise.

Shaw was convicted of multiple counts of child molestation based on the CALCRIM jury instruction number 1122. Shaw argued that the trial court erred when it instructed the jury that it must find that Shaw's conduct was motivated by "an unnatural or abnormal sexual interest in the child (italics added)," instead of referencing the protected class as the group, children. He claimed that, because California Penal Code section 647.6 protects children as a class, an unnatural or abnormal sexual interest in any one particular child is not covered by the statute's prohibition.

Shaw argued that the standard instruction given, Judicial Council of California Criminal Jury Instructions (2006-2007) (CALCRIM) No. 1122, fails to inform the jury that the offense is only committed if an unnatural or abnormal sexual interest in children in general is the motivating factor for the offense. The Appeals Court disagreed stating that the statute does not merely protect children as a class; it protects "any child" in the State of California from being annoyed or molested by an adult motivated by an unnatural or abnormal sexual interest. (section 647.6(a)(1)).

If you or a loved on has been accused of child molestation or annoyance, you should call an experienced attorney at Wallin & Klarich immediately. Our Los Angeles child molestation defense attorneys have over 40 years of experience and have the skills and expertise to provide you with the best possible defense. The law is often unclear and vague and it is important that you hire an attorney who is well versed in this area of the law. The attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have this experience and are ready to help. Our attorneys can be reached by phone at 1-888-749-0034 or through our website at www.wklaw.com.