Admissibility of Sex Crime Evidence Occurred 30 Years Ago

In People v. Soto (1998) 64 Cal.App.4th 966, the Court affirmed the trial court's decision to admit evidence of molestations committed by the defendant of his sister and another niece occurring 30 and 20 years prior to the molestations that served as the basis for the then-current charges. The Court did so because "the propensity evidence was extremely probative of the defendant's sexual misconduct when left alone with young female relatives, and is exactly the type of evidence contemplated by the enactment of section 1108 and the parallel federal rules. The prejudice presented by this evidence is the type inherent in all propensity evidence and does not render the evidence inadmissible." ( People v. Soto, supra, 64 Cal.App.4th at pp. 991-992.)