In what circumstances will a court overturn a section 647.6 sexual assault conviction?

In People v. Maurer (1995) 32 Cal.App.4th 1121, the appellate court reversed a former high school music teacher's two section 647.6 convictions because of instructional error. The trial court had instructed the jury that defendant's acts must have been motivated by an unnatural or abnormal sexual interest in the victim, but also instructed the jury generally that motive was not an element of the crime charged and did not have to be shown. (Id. at p. 1125.) Evidence supporting the charges included the victim's testimony and those of her classmates that the defendant would frequently make comments or jokes to the whole class about the subject of sex. The victim also described specific conversations and comments between her and the defendant that were sexually explicit in nature. The appellate court found the instructional error prejudicial, reasoning that the victim and the defendant freely discussed sexual and nonsexual matters, and that although defendant and the victim "were very close and spent a lot of time privately, yet defendant never touched her in a sexual manner and never tried to seduce her." (Id. at p. 1131.) The appellate court concluded the jury "could have determined that defendant's

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conduct was motivated by other than an unnatural or abnormal sexual interest in [the victim]." (Ibid.)