Sexual assault of a child involves any criminal engagement or attempt to engage in sexual acts with a minor. It can be a misdemeanor or felony, depending on the nature of the sexual act. Aggravated sexual assault on a child is more serious. It considers the nature of the sexual act, the age of the minor, and the age difference between you and the minor at the time of the offense.
Aggravated sexual assault on a child is a felony, attracting a lengthy prison term and hefty court fines for the guilty. It is essential to understand the circumstances in which the law considers your actions aggravated and their consequences. Talk to a competent criminal attorney for more information and legal help when you face charges for aggravated sexual assault on a minor. Your attorney can help you fight your charges for a fair outcome.
Sexual Assault on a Child — What It Entails
Sexual assault occurs when a person deliberately touches another person without their consent for sexual purposes. It could also happen if the person physically forces or coerces another person to engage in a sexual act against the person’s will. Sexual assault is a form of sexual violence. It is a severe offense in California, especially if it involves minors or people incapable of giving consent, like the mentally challenged or unconscious.
California law highly protects minors (individuals aged below 18 years) as they cannot consent to sexual acts. Children do not understand the nature and consequences of sexual actions. That is why they are highly vulnerable to sexual abuse by adults who should be protecting them. California law provides hefty penalties for anyone guilty of sexually assaulting a minor, however lenient the abuse seems.
Engaging in or attempting to engage in sexual acts with a minor is prosecuted under California child molestation laws. You could face misdemeanor or felony charges for your actions, depending on the nature of the sexual act and the minor's age. Sexual assault can take many forms, including oral copulation, rape, lascivious or lewd actions with a minor, or sending explicit or obscene materials to a minor.
The severeness of your penalties after a conviction for sexually assaulting a minor will depend on whether the act was simple or aggravated.
When Sexual Assault on a Minor Becomes Aggravated
An offense becomes aggravated in California if it has additional factors that make the crime more severe. The additional factors must increase the gravity of the offense. Aggravated factors make penalties harsher after conviction. A simple form of sexual assault on a minor can be prosecuted as a misdemeanor in California, attracting a maximum jail sentence of one year. But an aggravated form of the same offense is a straight felony, punishable by several years in prison.
California law against aggravated sexual assault on a minor is under California PC 269. The law provides various circumstances under which sexual assault on a child becomes aggravated. The legal definition of this offense provides specific elements of this offense. The prosecutor must prove that you are guilty of aggravated sexual assault on a minor beyond a reasonable doubt. These elements are:
- That you committed a specific act of sexual assault on a minor — We shall look into these particular sexual acts in greater detail below.
- The victim was 14 or younger at the time
- You were older than the victim by seven years or more
When a Minor is Below 14
The age of consent in California is set at 18. Anyone below 18 is considered a minor and incapable of consenting to sexual acts. While all minors receive state protection against sexual predators, special protection is given to younger children below 14. Anyone guilty of sexual acts with a minor aged 14 or younger is severely punished in California. Sexual acts against a victim below 14 are considered aggravated and are highly punished in California.
When the Defendant is More than Seven Years Older than The Victim
Sexual assault on a minor becomes aggravated if the minor is below 14 and the age difference between the minor and the defendant is seven years or more. For instance, a 47-year old man facing charges for having sexual relations with a 12-year old will face charges under this law.
Adults are expected to be at the forefront in protecting minors against abuse, especially sexual abuse. Any older adult engaging in sexual acts with a minor below 14 is highly penalized in California.
Specific Sexual Acts Listed Under This Statute
As previously mentioned, sexual assault can take many forms. Some acts are considered minor, while others are severe. Severe sexual acts committed against a minor make the offense aggravated and could lead to heftier penalties upon conviction. The specific sexual acts listed under this statute, which makes a sexual assault on a minor aggravated, include:
1. Rape — California PC 261
California law defines rape as using threats, force, or fraud to engage in sexual intercourse against the other person’s consent. Several acts constitute rape in California, including engaging in sexual acts:
- With someone incapable of consenting to the act because they are a minor or have a mental disorder
- Through violence, force, or coercion
- With someone that cannot give consent because they are highly intoxicated
- With someone unconscious of the act
Example: Sammy forcefully enters the house of his next-door neighbor Jessy. He frightens her daughter into having sexual intercourse with him, threatening to hurt her mother if she fought back or called for help. Sammy is guilty of aggravated sexual assault on a minor if Jessy’s daughter is below 14 and has an age difference of seven years or more with Sammy.
Rape is, more often than not, accomplished through violence, force, menace, duress, retribution, fear of physical injury, and fraud. The victim must be alive at the time of the offense for you to be guilty of rape.
It must also involve sexual intercourse, which means any penetration of the vagina or genitals by the male penis. Even a slight penetration counts as rape. Ejaculation is not required as proof of penetration.
The offender must have accomplished the act against the victim’s consent. Minors are incapable of consenting. Therefore, penetration of a minor’s vagina or genitalia by a male penis, accomplished through force or violence, will satisfy the elements of rape.
2. Gang Rape — California PC 264.1
Gang rape or rape in concert occurs when you commit rape in cahoots with another person. You will face charges under this statute if you and another person/people work together to engage in non-consensual sex with a particular person.
The elements of this offense are the same as those of California rape, but with an additional factor that requires the defendant to have worked in concert with another person. Working in concern with another person can happen in one of two ways:
- You committed the rape offense while another person assisted you
- You aided and abetted another person to commit the offense
Aiding and abetting means helping another person commit rape. You could be guilty of aiding and abetting another person to commit rape when you know that the person intends to commit the crime, they seek your assistance and you assist, facilitate or encourage them in actions or words.
The offense is referred to as gang rape because it involves multiple people teaming up together in the commission of rape. The prosecutor will prove the following elements for the court to find you guilty under this statute:
- That you committed an act of rape as defined under California PC 261
- You had accomplices
Gang rape is a severely punished offense in California. If you are guilty of gang-raping a minor below 14, you could receive up to fourteen years of prison time.
3. Sodomy — California PC 286
While sodomy is generally legal in California when it happens between two consenting adults, it is illegal when committed with a minor or accomplished through fear, force, and threats.
Sodomy occurs when a person establishes sexual contact between the penis and anus of another person. Violating sodomy laws attracts severe penalties upon conviction.
Even a slight penetration satisfies the elements of this offense.
Ejaculation is not needed as evidence of penetration.
Sodomy against a minor below 16 is a severe felony in California. It will lead to aggravated sexual assault charges against a minor. Your penalties could increase if you accomplish the act through violence, fear, or force.
Victims of sodomy also have a legal right to file a lawsuit against their offenders for compensation. Compensation can be used to cater to their medical bills, psychological counseling, lost wages, pain, and suffering.
4. Oral Copulation — California PC 287
Oral copulation with a child is a grave offense. It occurs when a person's mouth copulates with the vagina, anus, or penis.
California PC 287 is a general law against oral copulation accomplished through violence, force, menace, fear, or coercion. The crime is a felony, punishable by eight years in prison. Oral copulation with a child is prosecuted in reference to state laws against statutory rape, which makes it a crime for anyone to have sexual relations with a minor, whether consensual or non-consensual.
Some instances of oral copulation with a child require graver penalties upon the conviction of an offender. For example, if the child is mentally disabled or intoxicated.
Punishment for oral copulation with a child also depends on the minor’s age and the age difference between the minor and the offender at the time of the offense. If the victim is younger than 16 and the defendant is older than 21, the offense is a straight felony, punishable by three years in prison.
But if the alleged victim is younger than 14 and the offender is ten years older than the victim, the offense is a felony, punishable by up to eight years of prison time.
A conviction under this statute comes with additional consequences like a mandatory requirement to register as a sex offender.
5. Forcible Sexual Penetration With a Foreign Object — California PC 289
California PC 289 makes it an offense for a person to penetrate the anus or vagina using a foreign object without the person’s consent and through force, threats, or fraud. The offense becomes aggravated sexual assault if the victim is a minor under 14.
Sexual penetration of a minor is already a severe offense in California. Using a foreign object, threats, or fear to accomplish the act aggravates the offense. The defendant’s actions must have intended to sexually abuse the victim or sexually arouse or gratify the defendant.
Even a slight penetration of the anal opening or genital of the victim counts as forcible sexual penetration.
Causing a minor to penetrate your anal opening or genitals or those of a third party also satisfies the elements of this offense.
Causing the minor to penetrate their anal opening or genital, however slightly, counts as an offense under this statute.
A foreign object means any object other than a sexual organ, including a body part. Penetration with a sexual organ is referred to as sexual intercourse. Thus, penetration using fingers will satisfy the elements of this offense.
California PC 289 is a straight felony, punishable by eight years in prison.
What Are the Consequences for Aggravated Sexual Assault on a Minor?
When the sexual assault becomes aggravated, the penalties are likely to increase for anyone guilty of the offense. Sexual assault on a minor is punished according to the underlying offense. For instance, oral copulation with a minor is punishable by eight years in prison. An aggravated form of this offense, whereby the victim is below 14 and their age difference with the offender is more than seven, will lead to more years in prison. Here are the likely penalties for anyone guilty of aggravated sexual assault on a minor in California:
Increased Prison Sentence
Aggravated sexual assault on a minor is a felony offense in California. The offense is punishable by imprisonment in state prison for fifteen-to-life of imprisonment. The exact length of your prison time will depend on your criminal history and the circumstances of your case.
The judge can decide to sentence you to felony probation in place of or together with prison time. In that case, you will be serving part of your sentence out of incarceration but under the supervision of a provision officer. The probation period lasts for between three to five years. The judge will give you a set of probation terms and conditions that you must abide by throughout the probation period. For instance, you must not commit any offense while on probation. You will be rearrested and sentenced to the full prison sentence if you violate any probation condition.
Registering in the Sex Offender Registry
Certain sex crimes in California carry a requirement to register in the sex offender registry as part of punishment after conviction. Aggravated sexual assault on a child is among them. The condition is under California PC 290. The sex offender registry is meant to monitor and keep track of sex offenders after they are released back into the community. It provides information to public members about convicted sex offenders, including their names, location, and past convictions.
Aggravated sexual assault on a child is a tier 3 offense in California. It carries a mandatory requirement for the defendant to register their name in the sex offender registry for life. Every year, you must submit your details to the registry without fail.
Failing to register in this registry is a severe offense, prosecuted according to the underlying offense. Since aggravated sexual assault on a child is a felony, you will face felony charges for failing to register, punishable by three years in prison. You will serve the three-year prison term consecutively with the prison term given for the underlying offense.
Consecutive Prison Sentences
You could face consecutive prison sentences if you are guilty under California PC 269. It applies mainly to defendants with more than one count of aggravated sexual assault on a minor. If the victim is more than one, you will face separate charges for every victim you assaulted. Also, if the victim is one person, but you assaulted them more than once, you will face separate charges for every instance.
If the judge imposes consecutive prison sentences on your case, you will serve one sentence after another until you ultimately serve your prison terms. You will be in prison longer than the law provides for this offense.
Find a Competent Van Nuys Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me
Sexual assault on a minor is a serious offense, carrying a lengthy prison time and high court fines. Penalties increase significantly if you are guilty of aggravated sexual assault on a minor. You need competent legal services to fight your charges for a reduction or dismissal of your charges. If you or your loved one face similar charges in Van Nuys, CA, you could benefit from the skills and experience of our criminal attorneys at Leah Legal. We handle cases like these every day. Thus, we have strategies that could work to produce a fair outcome for your case. Call us at 818-484-1100 and let us study the details of your case.