People v. Martinez

Opinion

BAXTER, J.

We granted review for the limited purpose of determining the acts necessary to sustain a conviction under Penal Code section 288.1 This statute imposes criminal liability on anyone who “willfully and lewdly commits any lewd or lascivious act” upon the body of a child under the age of 14 “with the intent of arousing ... the lust, passions, or sexual desires” of either party. (Id., subd. (a).)

For almost a century, section 288 has been interpreted to require no particular form of physical contact. The courts have established in a long unbroken line of cases that the crime occurs…