Can a defendant who sexually assaults a child under age 14 be convicted of both sexual assault and lewd conduct based on the same act?

such finding was necessary. Multiple convictions may be based on a single act so long as one offense is not a lesser included offense of the other. (People v. Pearson (1986) 42 Cal.3d 351, 354, 358 [defendant properly convicted of both sodomy and lewd conduct based on same act].) "A defendant who sexually assaults a child under age 14 can be convicted under section 288 and another applicable statute for the same criminal act. However, he cannot be separately punished for each such offense." (People v. Scott (1994) 9 Cal.4th 331, 344, fn. 6.) Thus, the question of whether the two offenses were based on a single act concerns the validity of multiple punishments, not the validity of multiple convictions. We address that issue in section C, post.