AFFIRM; Opinion Filed March 13, 2020 In The Court of Appeals Fifth District of Texas at Dallas No. 05-19-00193-CR JOSEPH KIM, Appellant V. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee On Appeal from the 291st Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. F15-34581-U MEMORANDUM OPINION Before Justices Myers, Schenck, and Carlyle Opinion by Justice Myers Appellant Joseph Kim was indicted for indecency with a child by contact and sexual assault of a child. A jury found him guilty of indecency with a child and assessed punishment at confinement for two years and a $10,000 fine. Appellant filed a motion for new trial. Following a hearing at which appellant presented evidence, the trial court denied the motion. In one issue, appellant contends the trial court abused its discretion by not granting a new trial because he was denied due process and due course of law. We affirm. BACKGROUND The record in this case shows that the complainant was born in Korea and that she and her parents immigrated to the United States when the complainant was three years old. After her parents separated and her father returned to Korea, the complainant’s mother started dating appellant, who also immigrated to the U.S. from Korea. Appellant and the complainant’s mother got married in 2009, during the summer between the complainant’s third and fourth grades, after which the complainant and her mother moved in with him. The complainant’s mother was over fifty when she married appellant; he was in his late sixties. Twenty-one years old at the time of trial, the complainant testified that appellant, her stepfather, maintained a strict, traditional Korean household. She was not allowed to date or participate in various social activities, like attending homecoming or prom, and she found these restrictions very frustrating. The complainant testified that around the time when she was in the eighth grade, her mother and appellant moved her bed into their bedroom. The complainant’s mother told her they did this to keep her safe because one night a gunshot had gone through their front door and the alarm sounded. Even before this incident, however, the complainant testified that she had started to feel uncomfortable around appellant because every morning and night he would put his hand on her “butt,” outside of her clothing, and ask her to give him a kiss on the lips. As she grew older, appellant would try to force his tongue into her mouth. The complainant said her mother witnessed this behavior and told her it was normal for a father to do that. –2– In the mornings before she went to school, while her mother was walking in a nearby park, appellant would touch the complainant by putting his hand on her butt. The complainant said this became “my normal routine.” When she took a shower, he would enter the bathroom (he never allowed her to lock the door), tell her to turn around, and put his hands on her breasts. The complainant said that she told her mother ...
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