People v. Harrison

Opinion

EAGLESON, J.

We granted review in this case to consider (1) whether a criminal defendant may be convicted of multiple statutory violations (Pen. Code, § 289, subd. (a))1 where he commits identical sex acts which are briefly interrupted by his use of force and the victim’s struggles and, if so, (2) whether section 654 precludes separate punishment for each conviction.

The first issue focuses on the language of section 289, a relative newcomer in the legislative scheme governing sex crimes. At all pertinent times, this section has proscribed certain “penetration[s], however slight, of the…