Sex Crime Convictions Upheld For Ex-San Diego Sheriff's Deputy

SAN DIEGO, CA — A state appeals court upheld the sex crime convictions Wednesday for a former San Diego County sheriff's deputy sentenced to 80 years in state prison for sex acts committed against two underage girls.

Earle Yamamoto, 43, was convicted by a jury in 2021 of forcible rape and other felony counts for crimes prosecutors say occurred between 2012 and 2019.

Yamamoto worked for the department between 2016 and 2019.

On appeal, he contended his defense attorney was ineffective during his trial, warranting reversal of the convictions.

An opinion from the Fourth District Court of Appeal states Yamamoto's attorney did not object to the inclusion of certain evidence at trial, including a pair of recordings in which Yamamoto confessed to committing some of the sex crimes. He argued those confessions occurred under duress.

A three-justice panel of the Fourth District Court of Appeal rejected his contentions, writing, "We found no merit to any of Yamamoto's claims that his counsel was ineffective."

Yamamoto was the second former San Diego County sheriff's deputy to be sentenced to a state prison term that year for sex crimes against children.

In June 2021, Jaylen Devon Fleer was sentenced to a dozen years in prison following his guilty pleas to 20 felony and misdemeanor charges. Fleer admitted to engaging in sex acts with a 14-year-old girl, as well as contacting numerous other underage girls over social media with aims of meeting up for sex.

— City News Service