People v. Manuel

The defendant was tried by a jury and convicted of lascivious acts upon a 5-year-old child, contrary to the provisions of section 288 of the Penal Code. He contends that the verdict and judgment are not supported by the evidence chiefly because the child was not competent to testify and because her evidence is inherently improbable. He also asserts that the court erred in receiving evidence of defendant’s failure to contradict a charge of guilt which was made within his hearing, and in giving to the jury an instruction on that subject.

The parents of the child lived with their family in the…