Sex crimes involving minors carry hefty penalties in California. Perpetrators, who in most cases are adults, face lengthy prison sentences, hefty court fines, and other life-changing consequences after a conviction. Meeting or arranging to meet with a minor to engage in a sex-related offense is one such crime whose conviction can significantly impact your life. But you can fight your charges with the assistance of a competent criminal lawyer if you face false accusations, do not know that the victim is a minor, or are a victim of police entrapment. Your attorney can use the best solid defense techniques to obtain a favorable outcome for the case.
Legal Meaning of PC 288.3
PC 288.3 prohibits establishing contact with a minor (an individual below 18) to commit a sex-related felony. You contact a minor when you establish communication with them. This law requires you to know that the person you communicate with is a minor. It also requires that the felony you intend to commit involves a minor. This grave offense can result in life-changing consequences, hence the need for the prosecutor to prove all elements beyond any reasonable doubt. It is the only way the court will give a guilty verdict in your case.
The elements of a crime provide its legal meaning. When prosecuting charges under PC 288.3, the district attorney must prove the following:
- You contacted or established communication with a minor, directly or indirectly, or attempted to do so
- You established or attempted to establish this communication to commit a sex-related felony with the minor
- You knew or should have reasonably known that the individual you were communicating or attempting to communicate with was a minor (below 18)
Proof of communication between you and the alleged minor is crucial in such cases. The prosecutor will still have a solid case against you, even if the communication was unsuccessful. What matters is that you established communication or attempted to do so, your criminal intent, and the fact that the alleged victim was a minor.
This law specifies the sex-related felonies that you can face prosecution for. They are as follows:
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Kidnapping for Sex Crime
Kidnapping occurs when you forcefully, or through fear, move another person over a significant distance against their will. There is usually no requirement to use force or fear when the crime involves a minor. You could use misrepresentation or false promises to convince the minor to accompany you.
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Rape, PC 261
You commit rape when you engage in sexual intercourse with another person against the person’s consent. You can accomplish the act through violence, force, threats, coercion, or fraud.
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Illegal Sodomy
PC 286 makes sodomy a crime when you engage in the act with a minor or commit the act against the other person’s consent.
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Lewd Acts
PC 288 makes it unlawful to engage in lewd or lascivious activities with a child. The offense occurs when you touch a minor for sexual purposes. The touch can be on any part of their body. It is a graver offense if the alleged victim is a minor under 14.
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Oral Copulation
PC 287 prohibits engaging in oral sex through fear or force and against the victim’s consent. The crime carries more severe penalties if the alleged victim is a minor.
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Forcible Penetration Using a Foreign Object
Under PC 289, you commit this crime when you use a foreign object to sexually penetrate a minor. Typically, this offense is committed against the victim’s consent. But it is a grave offense when committed against a minor, even with consent.
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Child Pornography
You are guilty under PC. 288.3 if you contact a child with the intent to commit child pornography. Child pornography is defined under different statutes, including PC 311.2, PC 311.4, and PC 311.11. PC 311.2 prohibits transporting, sending, processing, producing, and duplicating child pornographic material for distribution or sale. PC 311.4 prohibits employing, hiring, persuading, using, or forcing a minor to engage in the filming or production of pornographic materials. PC 311.11 prohibits controlling or processing child pornographic material.
The Knowledge
PC 288.3 requires you to know that the person you are communicating with is a minor. This could be true if you knew the alleged victim before the crime. For example, if the victim is your neighbor, a relative, or a student at your school, you could know their age. The prosecutor will still file charges if they believe that you should have reasonably known that the victim is a minor. This reasonable knowledge occurs if you have information that could help determine their age.
Proving knowledge is challenging for prosecutors, which allows you to challenge your charges during the trial. A skilled attorney can argue that you believed the victim to be of legal age to fight your charges.
Penalties if Convicted Under PC 288.3
If a jury trial finds you guilty of meeting a minor or attempting to meet a minor to commit a sex offense under PC 288.3, you will face the same penalties as those given for the sex offense you planned to commit with the minor. Typically, felony sex crimes are punishable by:
- Felony probation
- A maximum of $10,000 in court fines
- A prison sentence
Additionally, if there is a previous conviction under PC 288.3 on your record, the judge could increase your prison sentence by five years.
A PC 288.3 violation also carries a requirement to register in the sex offender registry under PC 290. The judge can order you to register under Tier Three, meaning a lifetime requirement to register. If required to register under Tier 2, you will register for at least twenty years.
The exact prison sentence you face upon conviction depends on the underlying sex crime. Here are some possible sentences you could receive:
- Seven to thirteen years in prison if you planned to commit sodomy on a minor
- Three, six, or eight years in prison for contacting a minor under 14 to commit lewd or lascivious acts on them
- Sixteen months to eight years for intending to engage in oral sex with the minor.
Legal Meaning of PC 288.4
You violate PC 288.4 when you organize to meet a minor with a plan to engage in sexual acts at that meeting. The crime is also referred to as soliciting a minor. It is a wobbler carrying a maximum prison sentence of four years and a requirement to register in the sex offender registry. The sexual acts you intend to commit when you meet a minor can include any of the following:
- Exposing your genitals, rectal area, or public area or having the child do the same
- Engaging in lewd or lascivious acts with the minor, including touching their body for sexual arousal or gratification
Note: You are guilty under PC 288.4 even though you did not engage in the intended sexual acts with the victim. You are also guilty even if the meeting did not occur, as long as you organized the meeting with a minor. However, the district attorney must prove the facts of this crime for a guilty verdict. These facts are as follows:
- You organized to meet a minor or anyone you believed was a minor
- You organized the meeting due to an abnormal or unnatural sex-related interest in children
- You planned to engage in a sex-related act with the minor, like exposing your private parts, causing the minor to expose their private parts, or lewd activities with the minor.
Remember that a minor is any individual below 18. People become adults when they turn eighteen, after the first second of their birthdate. Meeting or organizing to meet a sexually mature teenager is a grave violation of this crime, even if the teenager initiated communication with you.
Additionally, it is an offense to organize to meet with somebody you believe is a minor, even if they are not. This is a crucial aspect of this law since most arrests and charges occur after a sting operation involving undercover law enforcement officers who sometimes pose as children.
The district attorney must also prove your motivation to meet the minor, which is an abnormal or unusual sex-related interest in minors. They can use evidence from your prior arrests and convictions related to your relationships with children. The prosecutor can also use your previous conversations, emails, texts, or phone calls to prove this motivation. However, if your motive to organize a meeting is non-sex-related, the court will not find you guilty under PC 288.4. But you should prove this in court so the judge can dismiss your charges.
Lastly, the plan to engage in sexual acts is a crucial element of this crime. The district attorney must prove your intention to expose your private parts, cause the minor to expose their private parts, or engage in lascivious or lewd activities with the child. Remember that lewd acts with a minor include touching the minor’s body parts for sexual excitement, arousal, or gratification.
The court will drop your charges if the prosecutor cannot prove these elements beyond any reasonable doubt.
Enhanced Penalties for Attending the Meeting
PC 288.4 prohibits organizing to meet with a child for sexual or lewd purposes. Criminal court judges will give you an enhanced sentence if you attend the meeting. However, for the enhanced sentence to apply, the district attorney must demonstrate all the elements under PC 288.4, including that you attended the meeting at the planned time. The enhancement applies even in cases where the defendant does not engage in the planned sexual acts with the minor. What matters is the fact that you attended the meeting.
Possible Penalties if Convicted under PC 288.4
PC 288.4 is a wobbler, meaning the district attorney can prosecute it as a misdemeanor or felony offense. Your charges will mainly depend on the facts of your case and your criminal history. Prosecutors mostly charge this offense as a misdemeanor, which is punishable by the following:
- Misdemeanor probation
- A maximum jail sentence of one year
- A maximum of $5000 in court fines
The prosecutor can file felony charges against you if there is a previous sex-related conviction on your criminal record that carries a requirement to register in the sex offender registry. Examples of crimes carrying this requirement include rape, sexual battery, oral copulation through force or fear, forcible sexual penetration using a foreign object, or indecent exposure.
If the district attorney brings felony charges, you will likely receive these penalties after a conviction:
- Felony probation
- A prison sentence of sixteen months, two or three years
- A maximum of $10,000 in fines
A felony charge will also occur if you go to an arranged meeting with a child for sex-related acts. For the enhanced sentence, the judge could sentence you to the following:
- Felony probation
- A maximum of $10,000 in court fines
- A prison sentence of two, three, or four years
The Requirement to Register as a Sex Offender
PC 288.4 also requires registration in the sex offender registry under PC 290. If the court finds you guilty of a misdemeanor under this statute, you could be required to register under Tier 1. This means you must register every year for ten years. However, you could be required to register under Tier 3 if you are guilty of a felony. This means registering for a lifetime.
Fighting Your Charges Under PC 288.3 and PC 288.4
PC 288.3 and PC 288.4 carry severe penalties for anyone found guilty of meeting or arranging to meet with a child for sex purposes. However, you can change the outcome of your case with the assistance of a competent criminal defense lawyer. Criminal attorneys use a wide range of legal defense techniques on their client’s behalf for a fair resolution of criminal cases. Here are some of the best strategies your lawyer can use in your case:
You Did Not Know That The Victim Was a Minor
PC 288.3 requires you to have known that the individual you were planning to meet was a minor. The court will drop your charges if the prosecutor cannot prove beyond any reasonable doubt that you had this knowledge. Your lawyer can argue that the alleged victim lied about their age, and you could not tell their actual age from the conversation or your previous meetings.
However, you cannot use this defense strategy if facing charges under PC 288.4 since the requirement here is planning to meet with somebody you know or believe is a minor.
You Did Not Intend to Commit a Sexual Offense
PC 288.3 requires you to plan to meet with a child to commit a sex-related felony. PC 288.4 requires you to organize to meet a child to engage in sex-related acts. The district attorney must demonstrate this intent so the jury can deliver a guilty verdict. But your lawyer can challenge your intent for a favorable outcome.
Remember that proving a person’s intent is a severe challenge for prosecutors. It is difficult to tell a person’s intention from their current or previous behavior or communications. A skilled attorney only needs to create doubt in the prosecutor’s case to gain an advantage. If they are successful, the court will drop your charges.
You Are a Victim of Police Entrapment
Police entrapment happens when the police cause a defendant to commit a crime they would otherwise not have committed under different circumstances. Since it is difficult to arrest individuals who engage in sexual acts with minors in acts of crime, the police use traps and tricks to obtain evidence and make arrests. They can pose as victims to gauge the behavior of a suspected offender. If the offender falls into their traps, they make an arrest.
However, you can cite police entrapment to convince the court to dismiss our charges if you can prove that you only committed the offense because of the entrapment.
This defense strategy may not work if you face charges under PC 288.4. If a police officer poses as a minor and tells you their exact age, you will face prosecution if you go ahead with the planned meeting even after learning that the person you intend to engage in sexual acts with is a minor.
Find an Experienced Criminal Defense Lawyer Near Me
Do you face criminal charges in Van Nuys for meeting or arranging to meet with a child for sexual acts?
A conviction under PC 288.3 or PC 288.4 can have life-changing consequences. However, you can fight for a favorable outcome with the assistance of a skilled criminal attorney.
At Leah Legal, we will help you understand your legal situation and options. We will also help you navigate the complex legal process successfully. We will defend your rights and plan a solid defense against your charges for the best possible outcome for the case. Contact us at 818-484-1100 to better understand your legal situation and our services.