People v. Thompson

142 Cal.App.4th 1426 (2006)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

A group home for the developmentally disabled hired D to help care for its residents. Renee was born with Down syndrome. She suffers from a cluster of physical deformities and disabilities, as well as mental retardation. Renee testified that at 2:00 a.m., D came into her bedroom while she was asleep. He took off his clothes, then got on top of her. She was wearing a nightgown but no underwear. She testified: “I felt his fingers to open my vagina and put his penis inside of me.” Then he put his penis in her mouth. She did not move or say anything because she was “sound asleep.” At 3:00 a.m., D left. At 3:15 a.m., he came back and said, “Don't tell nobody about this.” Renee's vagina hurt; she was “in a lot of pain.” She cried “[f]or a long time.” D was arrested. The issue at trial was consent. Renee was three or four when she learned to speak, four or five when she learned to feed herself, and six or seven when she learned to dress herself. She had attended special education classes. She could read out loud at approximately a second-grade level but did not always understand what she read. She had gone to high school, but she had received a certificate of completion rather than a diploma. Renee was 34 years old. She had lived with her mother until she was 26 when she chose to move into a group home. She worked in sheltered workshops for the developmentally disabled. Her tasks included stuffing envelopes, painting ceramics, hanging up clothing and sorting books. She was paid less than minimum wage. In addition, she received Social Security disability benefits, based on her permanent mental retardation. Defense expert Dr. Morton Kurland, a psychiatrist, opined that Renee had the ability to give legal consent. He relied primarily on the fact that she had been asked to sign-and had signed-consent forms for searching her room, for keeping her full name confidential, and for conducting the sexual assault examination. D was found guilty and appealed. D contends there was insufficient evidence that Renee was incapable of giving legal consent.