A state appeals court has affirmed the convictions of a defendant serving a lengthy prison term in a Novato child molestation case.

Eduardo Aparicio was arrested in 2019 after an investigation by the Novato Police Department. Police alleged that he molested a boy and a girl he babysat for friends.

The Marin County District Attorney’s Office charged Aparicio with continuous sexual abuse against the girl from 2012 to 2015 and lewd acts against the boy in 2012. The case went to trial in 2020, and the jury convicted Aparicio of seven felony sex crimes.

Judge Paul Haakenson sentenced Aparicio to 80 years to life in state prison.

An appellate lawyer challenged the convictions on several grounds, including allegations that the judge improperly allowed some evidence, improperly excluded other evidence and prejudiced the jury against him by referring to him as “the defendant.”

The appeal also argued that the jury deliberations might have been compromised because a juror with medical experience offered personal opinions about the injuries.

A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco reviewed the case. In a ruling released April 17, it unanimously rejected the appeal.

“Aparicio asserts the combined effect of all of the errors discussed above requires reversal of his convictions,” Associate Justice Jeremy Goldman wrote. “Having assessed the cumulative effect of the errors that we have previously concluded were not individually prejudicial, we find no reasonable likelihood that the jury would have reached a result more favorable to Aparicio in their absence.”

Aparicio’s appellate lawyer, Kieran Daniel Manjarrez, said he is “disappointed” in the ruling and plans to seek a review by the California Supreme Court.

Aparicio, 41, is incarcerated at Mule Creek State Prison in Amador County, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.”