Stephen Wilson will stay convicted of two counts of oral copulation of his minor step-daughter despite his argument that a Riverside prosecutor misused the word “presume” in closing argument.
The prosecutor had introduced evidence of uncharged sexual offenses they said Wilson committed against his other step-daughter.
“(I)f there’s evidence presented that the defendant touched another child in a lewd or lascivious way which you got the instructions for, then you can presume that he committed the crimes here,” the prosecutor told the jury.
Wilson argued that the prosecutor meant “presume” in the legal sense. If interpreted that way, the jurors must assume that he committed the crimes he was
