How Does Molestation get treated by California Law?
In the State of California, it is a crime to attempt or to engage in sexual acts with a minor. The accused can suffer a variety of punishments, including a lifetime sex offender registration mandate, severe fines, and punishments up to and including life in prison. The impact on a person’s life can be profound.
These sex crime cases can be very difficult to defend. There is a very high tendency among judges, juries, and potential jurors, to believe the testimony of children and minors. Also, the testimony of these minors can often be easily manipulated by prosecutors, family members, and even other plaintiffs.
What are the Charges One Can Face?
The range of crimes broadly defined as child molestation offenses is wide. Each California Penal Code section below defines a specific crime, including:
- (Penal Code 288) - A person who commits any lewd or lascivious act upon a minor can be found guilty of a felony leading to imprisonment in the state prison for up to eight years.
- (Penal Code 288.2) - Sending explicit matter to a minor - Every person who distributes any harmful matter that depicts a minor or minors engaging in sexual conduct, or with the intent that either person touches an intimate body part of the other, is guilty of a misdemeanor, leading to county jail for not exceeding one year, or is guilty of a felony, leading to state prison for up to five years.
- (Penal Code 288.3) - Contacting a minor with the intent to commit a felony. Every person who communicates with a minor with intent to commit an offense involving the minor shall be sentenced to state prison for the term prescribed for an attempt to commit the intended offense. NOTE: This section punishes all illegal communications as attempts at committing the intended felony. If you attempt a crime that has a specific sentence and/or fine associated with it, the sentence and/or penalty stated will apply to you. Otherwise, you can be sentenced to 3 years in a state prison and pay as much as $10,000 in fines. A person convicted of a repeat violation shall be sentenced to additional and consecutive terms of imprisonment in the state prison for 5 years.
- (Penal code 288.4) - Arranging a meeting with a minor with the intent to engage in certain sexual conduct. Every person who arranges a meeting with a minor for the purpose of engaging in lewd or lascivious behavior shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both the fine and imprisonment.
- (Penal code 288.5) - Continuous sexual abuse of a child. Any person who either resides in the same home with the minor child or has recurring access to the child, who over a period of time, not less than three months in duration, engages in three or more acts of substantial sexual conduct with a child under the age of 14 is guilty of the offense of continuous sexual abuse of a child and shall be sentenced to state prison for a term of up to 16 years.
- (Penal code 288.7) - Engaging in sexual acts with a child under 10 years of age. Any person who engages in sexual intercourse or sodomy with a child who is 10 years of age or younger is guilty of a felony and can be sent to state prison for a term of 25 years to life.
- (Penal code 287) - Any person who participates in an act of oral copulation with a minor can be sent to state prison, or in a county jail for a period of not more than one year. Any person over 21 years of age who participates in an act of oral copulation with another person who is under 16 years of age is guilty of a felony. Any person who participates in an act of oral copulation with another person who is under 14 years of age and more than 10 years younger than he or she can be sent to state prison for up to eight years.
- (Penal Code 261.5) - Any person who engages in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is not more than three years older or three years younger than the perpetrator, is guilty of a misdemeanor. Any person who engages in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is more than three years younger than the perpetrator is guilty of either a misdemeanor or a felony and can be sent to county jail not exceeding one year. Any person 21 years of age or older who engages in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is under 16 years of age is guilty of either a misdemeanor or a felony and can be sent to county jail not exceeding one year, or by imprisonment for up to four years.
- (Penal code 647.6) - Every person who annoys or molests any minor shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both the fine and imprisonment.
How to Defend Against These Charges?
Defenses against these charges can include; proving the alleged victim does not meet the age criteria for the crime, or that any contact was accidental or not sexual in nature, or that the accuser’s accusations are false.
The H Law Group is made up of people that care about people. We believe in the principle that every person is innocent until proven guilty and that every person charged with a crime is entitled to the best legal defense. We have achieved a client satisfaction of over 98%, and our efforts have resulted in more than 1,000 charges being dismissed against our clients.
Schedule your free consultation by calling the H Law Group now at 888.499.4948.
