The jury instruction (CALCRIM No. 1120) for the offense of continuous sexual abuse of a child (PC 288.5) need not include the heightened mental state requirement of “an intent to cause sexual arousal” to satisfy the “substantial sexual conduct” element under the presumption of mandatory culpability and with no evidence of moral innocence. The Court further holds that any error in instructing the jury that PC 288.5 is a general intent crime was harmless based on the overwhelming evidence of appellant’s guilt. Finally, the Court holds that appellant’s sentence violated ex post facto laws; since the abuse of one of the victims was not a One Strike crime at the time of the offense, the multiple-victim enhancement does not apply.

The full opinion is available on the court’s website here: https://www4.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/B328388A.PDF