California has several statutes that govern sexual contacts between people. Among these statutes, statutory rape laws have a significant focus because the offense involves victims who are minors. Statutory rape is any sexual activity with a person under the age of consent (18 years). A conviction of this offense attracts either misdemeanor or felony penalties depending on the minor’s age and the age difference between the minor and the offender. Vista Criminal Attorney Law Firm will represent you throughout your criminal trial for statutory rape. We also handle other rape-related offenses for clients across Vista, CA and north San Diego County.

The Definition of Statutory Rape

According to California penal code 261.5 (a) PC, a person commits statutory rape if they are involved in any sexual act with a minor who is not their spouse. Also known as unlawful sex with a minor, statutory rape charges apply even if the minor was aware of or initiated the act. A person is considered to be an adult immediately after his/her 18th birthday, after which it is lawful for him/her to have sex. If, for instance, a girl engages in a sexual act with an adult after midnight on her 18th birthday, her partner is not guilty of statutory rape since she was eighteen at the time of the act.

Below are examples of situations that can lead to statutory rape charges in California:

  • First-time sexual intercourse between an adult and a minor who have been dating for some years.
  • A sexual relationship between a high school teacher and his/her underage student.
  • Sexual intercourse between a 19-year-old and a 16-year-old high school student.

Most of the time, sexual acts between minors are ignored and are not prosecuted because the defendants are also victims. This doesn’t mean that you cannot be charged with statutory rape if you are a minor as minors can be charged in the Juvenile Court System. It is entirely legal for teenagers to date, although the age of consent must still be obeyed in cases where teenagers are dating.

How does a Prosecutor Prove a Statutory Rape Case?

A prosecutor must prove the following elements for a statutory rape case:

  1. The parties involved in the sexual act were not a couple at the time of sexual intercourse. This element is relevant even if the pair had a marital history or if the minor got married to someone else.
  2. The sexual act occurred when the victim was below 18 years of age.
  3. There was sexual intercourse (penetration) regardless of the depth of the penetration or whether ejaculation occurred.

The Difference between Penal Code 261 Rape and Penal Code 261.5 Statutory Rape

Under penal code 261, rape is the illegal sexual act where an unwilling individual is threatened or physically forced to commit the act; the two may have been dating or married. The main difference between rape and statutory rape is that the latter offense is punishable even if the victim consented to a sexual act. Additionally, the prosecutor does not have to prove that the sexual intercourse was triggered by fraud, fear, force, or threats in a statutory rape prosecution.

If a person you were dating when he/she was a minor accuses you of rape, you may face charges for both statutory rape and PC 261 rape. In such a case, a skilled criminal defense attorney can help you in fighting the two charges: they may seek a reduction of the charges so that you face statutory rape charges only so as to avoid facing the felony penalties and sex offender registration that result from a rape conviction.

In general, the prosecution of a statutory rape case majorly relies on the age of the victim.

What Are the Punishments for Statutory Rape?

Penal Code 261.5 PC elaborates on the guidelines that are observed when issuing penalties for statutory rape. These penalties can either be misdemeanor penalties or felony penalties depending on the criminal history of the perpetrator and the age difference between the parties involved. The following criteria are used to determine the potential penalties for a statutory rape:

  1. Under PEN 261.5 (b), the crime is a misdemeanor if the offender is at most three years older than the victim, except when they are above 21 years old and below 16 years old respectively.
  2. Section (c) of this statute provides that the crime is a wobbler if the offender exceeds the victim's age by more than three years.
  3. Section 1170 (h) provides the penalties for cases where the offender and the victim are 21 years old and at most 16 years old respectively. In this case, the case is treated as a misdemeanor. However, the felony penalties will be stiffer than a case where the offender exceeds the victim's age by more than three years.

In relation to the above criteria, the following penalties apply:

  1. a) Misdemeanor Penalties:
  • Informal probation.
  • A fine of up to 1,000 dollars.
  • A maximum of one year in county jail.
  1. b) Felony Penalties:
  • Either formal or informal probation with a maximum of a year in county jail.
  • A prison sentence of sixteen months, two years, or three years unless the defendant is 21 years or older and the victim was under sixteen during the act. In the latter case, the potential prison sentence is two years, three years, or four years.
  • A maximum fine of 10,000 dollars.

Besides the felony and misdemeanor punishments, a civil punishment can be imposed on an individual who commits a sexual act with a minor. A civil penalty is an additional fine imposed on the defendant (who is over 18 years old) for the crime committed. The defendant is, however, forced to settle the fines alongside serving the set jail sentence. The imposed non-criminal penalties depend on the age difference between the defendant and the victim. These are the maximum civil penalties:

  • 2,000 dollars if the victim is below two years younger than the accused.
  • 5,000 dollars if the alleged victim is at least two years younger than the accused.
  • 10,000 dollars if the victim is at least three years younger than the accused.
  • 25,000 dollars if the defendant was above 21 years of age and the victim was below 16 years of age during the act.

However, a judge gives the final verdict for charging a perpetrator who violates the civil penalties under 261.5 (iii) with up to 70 dollars as fines. The judgment depends on whether the individual can pay, and at no circumstances, the court can deny probation to the offender.

What are Legal Defenses to Statutory Rape?

Proving a statutory rape case is usually a cumbersome task to most prosecutors, giving defense attorneys leeway to instill doubts in the jurors’ minds that the evidence is sufficient. This difficulty in proving the case results from the unwillingness of most victims to fully cooperate with the prosecutors. For instance, the victim might be unwilling to offer straightforward responses because of the fear of stigmatization and trauma, especially if the penetration was forceful. Additionally, the victim may be unwilling to comply with the prosecutor because their parents are willing to take monetary benefits from the offender or to settle the case out of court.

Nevertheless, a person being accused of statutory rape doesn’t necessarily mean that they committed the crime. The accusations can emerge from revenge, mistaken identity, hate, and so on. Thus, the following defense strategies will help in the statutory rape charges:

  1. The defendant reasonably believed that the victim was not a minor during the intercourse. Before having intercourse, the defendant might have mistaken the alleged minor to be an adult because of the misleading evidence or facts they presented about their self. For instance, the victim provided faked identification documents, which showed that they were over 18 years, and the defendant could not tell that the document was fake. Secondly, the defendant might have met the victim at an adults-only place such as a bar. Thirdly, the victim’s physical appearance and attire gave an impression that he/she was an adult. Although the judge has the final determination on whether the victim was a minor bearing in mind the evidence presented by both sides, the above “mistake of facts” scenarios are satisfactory to support your argument.

  2. The defendant is falsely accused. It is normal for people to file criminal cases because they want to threaten another person, get monetary benefits, revenge for a failed agreement, or to merely express their anger. These are examples of the kinds of false accusations, which should not carry any conviction to the accused. However, the defense attorney has to conduct investigations on the motive behind the case and convince the court that you are wrongfully accused.

  3. You were married during the act. Unless the charges are filed as PEN 261 rape or PEN 262 spousal rape, a person cannot be convicted of statutory rape if the two parties are married or were spouses during the act. Even if one party is a minor, he/she is allowed to marry either legally or through the consent of the minor’s parents. Thus, sexual intercourse between spouses is considered normal unless the act is illegal, where it will be charged under other rape or assault laws.

  4. There was no sexual penetration. Obviously, the prosecutor will rely on the victim’s confession that he/she was sexually penetrated, a medical report showing that the minor was raped, and/or a confession from a witness or witnesses who purport to have seen the act. However, these pieces of evidence can be misleading, especially if the victim is seeking to get revenge or the medical papers are forged to criminalize the defendant. In reality, it is difficult for a person to claim that there was a sexual penetration if they weren’t at the scene, giving the defense attorney an advantage over the prosecutor.

It is significant to note that, as mentioned earlier, consent from the victim is not relevant in a statutory rape charge. Therefore, in defense of the defendant, the attorney cannot claim that the alleged victim initiated the sexual act, forced the defendant, or consented to the act. If both parties are minors, have consensual sex, and they are not in California, perhaps, their state would not take this act to be a statutory rape so long as that particular state has Romeo and Juliet Laws. These laws allow consensual sex between teenagers. But this is not the case in California, where a person is legally allowed to have sex after turning 18.

What Are Other Offenses Relating to Statutory Rape?

The charges of statutory rape are related to the charges of other sexual crimes such as PEN 261 rape, PEN 262 spousal rape, and lewd acts with a child.

Rape

PEN 261 rape charges require that a person forcibly performed any non-consensual sexual act on a person. This crime is considered more severe than statutory rape because it encompasses the use of force, fear, threats, or violence. Consequently, rape is a felony, carrying a maximum state imprisonment term of eight years.

Apart from being a felony, PC 261 rape is a strike under the three strikes law. Thus, a rape convict with a prior conviction(s) of rape will serve twice their initial sentences. Moreover, a rape convict must register as a tier-three sex offender for life.

If you are charged with both PC 261 rape and PC 261.5 statutory rape, the best option for your defense attorney (if the prosecutor’s evidence is enough to convict you and the victim is a minor) is to plead for a reduction of the charges to statutory rape. If the bargain is granted, you will escape the harsher felony penalties of rape. Additionally, you won’t be required to register as a sex offender or face a strike punishment under the three strikes law.

Lewd acts with a minor and child molestation

The lewd acts with a minor offense is codified under PEN 288 and occurs when a person touches the body parts of a child who is 14 years or younger for sexual pleasure. These acts can also be referred to as child molestation if the child is 15 years or below.

In a child molestation case, the prosecutor does not have to prove that the offender and the minor had sexual intercourse (unlike in statutory rape cases). This implies that even a touch over the minor’s clothes for sexual pleasure would amount to the criminal charge.

The penalties of child molestation include maximum state imprisonment of eight years. For lewd acts, according to PEN 288 (a), the convict must register as a sex offender in accordance with PEN 290 sex offender registration laws.

Despite the fact that both child molestation and statutory rape involve minors, a person may not be violating the child molestation laws if they are charged with statutory rape. He/she can be charged with both crimes if he/she sexually penetrated a minor who is under 15 years after touching their body parts for sexual pleasure. In this case, a defense attorney may seek for a reduction of the charges to statutory rape to avoid a sex offender registration requirement for the defendant.

Spousal Rape

PEN 262 spousal rape is similar to rape, except that the victim must be the offender’s spouse. A person can face charges for both rape and spousal rape. Alternatively, statutory rape charges can be charged as spousal rape if the victim was married to the defendant during the intercourse.

What is the Statute of Limitations for Statutory Rape and Related Crimes?

The statute of limitations is the time limit that the complainant has to file a case and when the prosecutor initiates the legal proceedings. The timeframe determines whether the legal charges for a crime that was committed previously can still be filed. If an individual is accused of rape resulting in severe injuries, he or she may face immediate charges (without time limitation) depending on the prosecutor’s evidence. Similarly, a prosecutor may file charges for statutory rape immediately if the victim was injured, weapons were used, or as the court deems necessary.

Before 1990, the child molestation retroactive legislation allowed the police to suddenly arrest any person that was accused of child molestation or a related offense. But the Supreme Court overturned this legislation on the basis of being unconstitutional. Consequently, the SOL for child molestation was raised to ten years; but still, investigators can commence the charges within one year after receiving claims of assault from the victims, regardless of whether the claims are raised after the ten-year SOL.

On the other hand, sexual assault can be filed within six years. Victims of statutory rape can also file sexual assault lawsuits provided that they believe that they suffered damages because of the assault. If at least nine jurors agree with the prosecutor’s evidence that the victim incurred damages, the defendant will be forced to settle compensatory damages to the victim. This means that the defendant can only be forced to pay for the victim’s damages if they are found guilty of the crime.

Find Vista Criminal Lawyer Near Me

If you are charged with statutory rape or any sexual crime, contact Vista Criminal Attorney Law Firm so that we can discuss your case in detail. We serve clients in Vista, California and neighboring cities. Call 760-691-1551 today to speak to an experienced sex crime attorney.