Sex Crimes

California’s sex crimes laws encompass a wide range of offenses. They include but are not limited to:
● Lewd conduct
● Indecent exposure
● Prostitution
● Child sexual abuse
● Oral copulation by force
● Rape
● Sexual battery

  • State Penalties: <p>The penalties for sex crimes are determined by the severity of the offense, the age of the victim, and whether or not violence was used to facilitate the crime, among other things. Below are examples of individual crimes and their penalties,</p>
  • Indecent Exposure: <p>A first conviction for indecent exposure is punished as a misdemeanor, with penalties being a fine of up to $1000 and a jail sentence of up to 6 months. A second offense is a felony and can result in prison time. In either instance, the defendant has a lifetime duty to register as a sex offender.</p>
  • Lewd Conduct: <p>This offense is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. A conviction does not require sex offender registration, but if it is charged in conjunction with indecent exposure, the registration requirement does apply.</p>
  • Oral Copulation by Force: <p>The penalties for forcing another person into oral copulation depend on the victim’s age. If the victim was an adult, a conviction can result in up to 8 years in prison. If they were under 14, the sentence increases to 12 years maximum. Oral copulation by force upon a child under 10 carries a sentence of 15 years to life, as it is typically prosecuted as sex with a child under 10 (Penal Code 288.7). The sex offender registration requirement applies.</p>
  • Rape: <p>A rape conviction is punished by 3, 6, or 8 years in prison. If the victim was a minor, the penalty heightens to 7-13 years.</p>
  • Difference between California State and Federal statutes: <p>Sex crimes are prosecuted in the federal court system if they happen in a federal prison, military base, or a special maritime or territorial jurisdiction of the U.S. government. Sexual offenses against a minor can be punished by a life sentence. Abusive Sexual Contact can result in up to 10 years in a federal prison.</p>
  • Related Crimes: <p>Assault, assault with a firearm, false imprisonment, human trafficking, kidnapping,</p>
  • When is the best time to act?: <p>Being charged with a sex crime in California is a serious matter. Heavy criminal and civil penalties, sex offender registration, and the impact of a sex-related offense on someone’s record make it critical that anyone facing prosecution hire an experienced Los Angeles criminal defense attorney immediately.</p>
  • Successful Defenses: <p>Failure to realize that the victim was incapable of consenting, conduct performed for a legitimate mental or health care purpose, being married to the victim (if the alleged victim did not have the capacity to consent strictly because they were under seventeen, mentally incompetent, or the client of a health care provider) or mental illness are all viable defenses.</p>
  • High profile/Government cases: <p>In June 2014 Marvin Dennis Todd, 71, a licensed social worker who held previous contracts with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department as well as Child Protective Services, was arrested on suspicion of battery, sexual battery, and sexual exploitation by a psychotherapist. The charges resulted from complaints made by two female patients, who claimed he had touched them inappropriately during therapy sessions.</p>
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