California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Padilla, E066273 (Cal. App. 2018):
The People concede the error. We agree that the trial court erred. "Section 654 precludes multiple punishments for a single act or indivisible course of conduct. [Citation.]" (People v. Hester (2000) 22 Cal.4th 290, 294.) In closing argument, the prosecutor advised the jury that both counts were based on the same act: "Count 2, what we're talking about there is when . . . something went in her butt, and that's going to be aggravated sexual assault, to wit, sexual penetration . . . . [] In regards to Count 3, again, we're talking about when something went in her butt, but this time it is sexual penetration of a child ten and under.9 So the language in Counts 2 and 3 is a little different, but it is talking about the same incident."
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