California Penal Code 288.3 criminalizes any attempt to engage in sexually explicit communications or contact with a minor, even when those attempts are unsuccessful. The crime is punished by extensive jail terms, among other consequences. The specific crimes that count as a felony include Oral copulation with a minor, Child endangerment, Child pornography, Rape kidnapping, Illegal acts of sodomy, Sending harmful material to a minor, and Lewd acts with a minor

After facing charges for committing any of the above offenses against a minor you could face severe consequences. Working with an aggressive criminal defense attorney is imperative to help you develop a strong defense to fight the charges.

The Legal Meaning Of PC 288.3

According to California PC 288.3, it is illegal to contact a child intending to commit a felony. The statute outlines several elements that describe the crime. The prosecutor must prove the elements before you face conviction. The following are the main elements of contacting a child intending to commit a felony:

  • You attempted, communicated, or contacted a minor.
  • You knew the alleged person was a minor.
  • When contacting the minor, you wanted to commit any crimes stated under PC 288.3.

Communicated or Contacted a Minor

According to California PC 288.3, the communication or contact must take place in any of the following ways:

  • Contact by phone.
  • Personal contact.
  • Contact through print media.
  • Contact through email.
  • Contact through internet.
  • Contact through radio or wire communication.

For example, Andrew is 60 years old and works in the pornographic film production industry. One night he meets Jane, a 15-year-old girl. He thinks she can be a good actress in his film. Andrew knows Jane would not accept his relationship. Therefore he uses Mark, his son, to approach Jane and persuade her to perform in his film. Under this case, Andrew could face conviction for PC 288.3.

Who is a Minor?

According to California law, a minor is any person aged below t18 years. California laws make it a crime to contact or communicate with a child intending to commit a severe crime. In most cases, the law is enforced through sting operations by undercover Law enforcement officers pretending to be children.

Therefore you might not contact the minor rather, you communicate or contact a person believed to be a minor. The following are the crimes that involve contact with a minor to commit a felony:

Child Endangerment

According to California laws, child endangerment involves exposing a child to pain, suffering, or danger. You commit the crime regardless of whether the child suffers death or injury. Also, you can face the charges even when your actions are unintentional. The following are examples of child endangerment in California:

  • Leaving your child unattended in a hot vehicle
  • Buying alcohol and drugs for a minor
  • Leaving dangerous weapons or chemicals where a minor can reach
  • Failing to provide medical assistance to a sick child
  • Leaving your child with a caregiver with a record of violence
  • Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs with a child passenger

Elements of Child Endangerment

When charged with the crime, the prosecution team must show you allowed or caused the child to face physical pain, danger, or mental suffering. Your actions must be willful. For example, leaving your children with a caregiver known for committing violence is child endangerment. Also, the prosecutor must prove your negligent actions toward the crime. Negligence might occur in the following situations:

  • You behave recklessly.
  • A reasonable person under similar circumstances could not have acted like you.
  • Your actions disregard human life.

Oral Sex with a Minor

The crime of oral sex with a minor is outlined under California PC 288 a. The crime has various statutes depending on the status of the victim. For example, oral copulation can take place in different ways when the victim is unconscious, intoxicated or the case involves the use of force.

According to the statute, the prosecution team can charge you with a felony or misdemeanor charge. When convicted of the crime, the punishment and penalties will change based on the time when the crime occurred and the victim's age.

One of the main issues in crime is consent. You will face conviction for involvement in oral sex with a minor even when you have consent from the victim. So, a minor cannot give you consent for any sexual activity. It does not matter whether they are willing to participate in sexual activity. Consent cannot be a legal defense to fight the charge.

Conducting oral copulation with a child in California is a severe offense, and the district attorney strictly investigates and prosecutes any allegations. When convicted, the law requires you to be registered in the sexual perpetrator's book.

Therefore, if you face charges for oral copulation with a child, you must work with your attorney to fight the charge. If you face the charges for committing this crime, you want to hire a criminal defense lawyer to represent you in court as soon as possible.

Child pornography – California PC 311

According to California PC 311, the law is against any material that facilitates a minor to engage in sexual conduct. As per the law, sexual conduct involves:

  • Anal or vaginal penetration by an object.
  • Lascivious acts and intercourse.
  • Sadomasochistic abuse.
  • Masturbation.
  • Display of pubic or genital areas.

So, it is illegal to sell, produce, send, distribute or possess any material that depicts child pornography. The materials include computer software, photocopies, pictures, CDs, videotapes, and computer-generated pictures.

Types of Child Pornography

California law classifies many offenses as child pornography. They include developing, possessing, distributing, advertising, exchanging, or printing child porn. The punishment and penalties vary based on the specific offense you commit.

  • Possession of Child Pornography

According to the law, it is illegal to control or possess any material that stimulates a person aged below 18 years to engage in sexual behaviors. It might include videos, pictures, CDs, and computer software. You serve a jail term of 12 months when charged with the offense. If you have a prior conviction, you serve a jail term of up to 6 years.

  • Distribution of Child Pornography

It is illegal to distribute child pornography in California. Distribution of child pornography involves:

  • Sending child porn.
  • Facilitating the child porn to be sent.
  • Bringing it to a state where it can be distributed.

Distribution of child pornography is a felony offense. The penalties for the crime include a 12-month jail term. The court could also increase the sentence to three years under certain situations.

  • Employing Minors to Engage in Child Pornography

It is an offense to employ a person under 18 years to engage in child porn or distribute child porn. You could remain behind bars for up to 12 months when convicted of committing the crime. You could face severe penalties if the court finds you coerced the minors to engage in child pornography. You could remain behind bars for up to eight years.

Rape – California PC 261

According to California PC 261, rape involves using threats, fear, force, or fraud to engage in non-consensual sexual activity with a person, not your spouse. You remain behind bars for up to eight years when convicted of violating the statute. Also, California law needs you to register as a sex offender. It is not a must for you to use force when committing a crime. For example, you can commit rape in the following ways:

  • The alleged victim was unconscious when you committed the crime.
  • The victim could not give consent due to intoxication.
  • The alleged victim had a mental illness during the commission of the crime.

Therefore, the prosecutor can file the rape charges when you meet the above factors. The prosecutor can file rape charges where you never used force but applied it to fear of arms, threats, fraud, or coercion.

Lewd Acts with a Minor

According to California PC 288, the statute defines lewd acts with a child as touching a child with the intent of gratifying yourself or sexual arousal. The offense usually involves touching the child's sexual organs. Also, it might include touching the non-sexual body organ, provided the touching is done for sexual arousal or gratification. Before you face a conviction involving a lewd act with a minor, the prosecutor must prove the key elements of the crime. The elements include:

  • The touching must be done willfully.
  • The act of touching was either direct or indirect.
  • The defendant did the touching with the aim of sexual arousal or gratification either by the alleged defendant or a third party.

The punishment for violating PC 288 varies based on the minor's age, among other factors. If the alleged child is either 16 or 17 years old, the charges will change to statutory rape or sexual battery. When the child ages are between 14 and 15 years, and the offender is above ten, the charges would be PC 288.

A felony charge attracts a jail term of up to 36 months. When the child is below 14 years old, the perpetrator may face a jail term between 3 and 8 years. If the perpetrator applied force or used threats to commit the crime, they will remain in jail for a period between 5 and ten years.

Sending Harmful Material to Minors with the Intent to Seduce Them

You violate California PC 288.2 when you send obscene or unfavorable material to minors intending to seduce them. Whether you send the material in person or electronically does not matter. To face conviction for the crime, the prosecutor has proven beyond a reasonable doubt the elements. The elements include:

  • You willfully and knowingly exhibited, offered, sent, or distributed harmful material to a minor.
  • You knew the alleged recipient was a minor, or you did not exercise reasonable care to know whether the recipient was a minor.
  • You intended to arouse sexual desire, passion, or lust of the minor or yourself.
  • You intended to seduce the minor.

The material in question must also meet the following requirements:

  • The material must show sexual conduct in an offensive way.
  • A reasonable person could conclude the material appeals to a prurient interest.

When convicted of sending harmful material to minors in California, you face felony charges. The penalties are harsh. However, the punishment will change based on the nature of the specific crime, among other factors.

For example, when you send harmful material to the minor but you do not harm them or engage in sexual activities with the minor, the charges are reduced. Under this situation, you serve a jail term of up to 12 months.

The law also requires you to write your name in the record of sex perpetrator. As per California sex offender laws, all perpetrators of sex crimes want to register as a sex offender. Failure to register as a sex perpetrator leads to additional penalties.

How to Fight Charges for Violating PC 288.3

Sometimes, the court may find you guilty of violating PC 288.3 in Los Angeles. In that case, you can still fight the charges by working closely with a well-experienced and aggressive criminal defense lawyer.

After the arrest, seeking legal help is the priority. The attorney will help you develop strong defenses to challenge the prosecution team. Below are legal defenses your lawyer may use to fight your charges for violating PC288.3:

The Alleged Victim is not a Minor

According to the elements of the crime, the alleged victim must be a minor. A minor is any person below the age of 18 years. Other statutes even describe a minor as a person below the age of 16 years. Therefore the definition of a minor depends on the offense you are facing. Your criminal defense attorney can develop a defense around the victim's age. The attorney may argue the minor never met the criteria age for a minor.

False Allegations

When a child is a victim of a criminal offense, they might be confused and frightened. So, they might be confused about identifying the perpetrator of the crime. The situation might be common in cases where the child does not know the perpetrator. Also, the child might be too young to identify a suspect correctly.

These situations usually lead to false accusations. Therefore a minor might falsely blame you for committing a felony crime. An adult may also manipulate the child to file allegations against you. If you believe you never committed the crime, your criminal defense attorney can help you skip the charges.

The Communication or Contact with the Child was not Sexual

The defense is valid in many sex crimes against a minor. Sexual offenses require you to engage with the minor sexually. You can avoid the charges by arguing you never communicated with or sexually contacted the child. Although you admit you contacted the minor, you must quickly show the touching or contact was not sexual. For example, when playing, you accidentally touch the minor's sexual organs.

You Believed the Alleged Minor was Aged 18 Years and Above

The law requires you to know the alleged victim was a minor below the age of 18 years. You could not face the charges when you believed you were dealing with a person aged 18 years and above. However, the defense might only work in some cases. The defense would only work in situations where the victim outlined they were aged above 18 years.

The court may consider the appearance of the victim and the type of clothing they wore to determine whether the defense would work. Also, the context in which you met the victim will play a key role. For example, if you met the victim in a pub or bar, it might be reasonable to believe the person was aged above 18 years.

Mistake of Facts

A mistake of fact may occur when a person misinterprets your situation. For example, a child might be injured while playing, but a doctor interprets the situation as child abuse or endangerment. If you face charges for the crime due to a mistake of facts, this defense can work best.

You want to discuss your case with your attorney. You can provide proof that shows the child was accidentally injured while playing with their friends. So, the criminal court judge will consider dropping the charges.

Contact a Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me

When you violate PC 288.3 in California, you might face severe penalties. Felony charges attract severe penalties, and handling the legal process could be challenging. That’s why you require legal help by your side to help you prepare strong defenses to prove your innocence, to have the court reduce the charges, and expunge your criminal records.

At Los Angeles Criminal Attorney, we are determined to represent our clients and ensure they obtain the best outcomes in their cases. Our extensive experience in handling criminal charges boosts our chances of handling cases. We are ready to work with you if you seek legal help in Los Angeles. Contact us today at 424-333-0943 for a free case evaluation.