A. The Offense

During a late afternoon in 1995, five-year-old Arielle H. (Arielle) was visiting her friend Vicky at an apartment building in Escondido. Vicky and Arielle were playing outside the building. Lopez approached them, held out a lollipop and said, "Hey, little girl, want some candy?" Vicky warned Arielle not to take the candy and not to talk to strangers, but Arielle took the lollipop.

Lopez told Arielle he was going to take her home. She accompanied him. They walked approximately 90 feet, rounded a corner and walked another 118 feet on a more secluded walkway bordered in part by a block wall and a fence.

B. The Prior Conduct

Taron S. (Taron) testified she was seven years old in 1984 when Lopez molested her. She was playing with friends at a school yard when Lopez approached her and asked for her help in locating a missing cat. He walked with her to a kindergarten playground, where he gave her a lollipop. They then walked down an alley, and Lopez led her by the wrist to his truck, placed her inside and drove away. He kept Taron in the truck for a five-hour period during which he repeatedly molested her. He touched her vagina over her dress, and after placing Vaseline on his hand he touched her under her dress. He forced her to touch his penis with her hands and mouth and to masturbate him until he ejaculated. He eventually released her near the school and threatened to hurt her or her family if she said anything about the incident.

https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/627f48e2714d582dadd73761