The pre-1999 version of CALJIC 2.50.01, which allowed the jury to use proof of uncharged sex crimes to infer the defendant committed the charged offense was error. It allowed the jury to convict without proof beyond a reasonable doubt of every necessary fact. [Editor’s note: This issue is presently pending in the Supreme Court in People v. Wutzke (2000, S092179). There is a split of authority in the Courts of Appeal as to the propriety of the instruction.] The court conclude the Chapman standard of prejudice applied and that the error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. This was the third trial of case and the prosecutor emphasized the propensity instruction in closing argument.