Child Sex Crimes

The topic of  “General Sex Crimes”  references sex crimes against children.  The California Penal Code also has another specific area where it discusses illegal acts against children, also known as “288 crimes.”   Sex crimes against children are highly sensitive and accusations can happen even years after the alleged event.  For example, let’s say a woman alleges she was sexually assaulted by you when she was 5 years old, but she is now is 30 years old.  In some sex crimes, there is no time limitation when she can report this.  Thus, time is of the essence and getting counsel on your case is extremely important.  A list of some of the 288 crimes are listed below. 

PC 288 – It is a crime to commit a lewd or lascivious act on a child under the age of 16.  Simply touching a child (even on top of clothing) for the purposes of sexual arousal or causing the child to touch themselves for a sexual purpose is a violation of this code.  So, if one was to rub a child’s arm, and it sexually aroused the person doing it, that person could technically be violating this statute.  Common but unobvious violations of this statute could be smacking a child’s butt or kissing a child’s lips, if it could be read as sexually gratifying the person doing it.  An obvious violation would be an adult touching a child’s vagina for sexual arousal. 

PC 288.2 – It is a crime to send obscene material to a minor for the purpose of sexually arousing or seducing the minor.  This can be a misdemeanor or felony.  An example of this would be sending pornographic images to a minor in hopes of sexually inspiring the child.

PC 288.3 – It is a crime to contact a minor, intend to commit a listed felony with the minor, and knowing or should have known the person was a minor.  Examples of a “listed felony” are: kidnapping, rape, gang rape, child abuse likely to cause great bodily harm, lewd acts on a child, showing/sending harmful material to seduce a minor, sexual penetration. 

PC 288.4 – It is illegal to plan a meet-up with a minor for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct.  The key word here is “plan,” and one can be convicted of this even if one never actually meets up with the minor, so long as there was evidence of the intentional plan.  An example of this is when a 50 year old man goes into a chatroom and tries to encourage a 13 year old to meet him for lunch for a sexual encounter.  This is a felony. 

PC 288.5 – It is a crime to continually sexually abuse a child under the age of 14 – specifically – three or more instances of sexual abuse over a duration of three months or longer.  This is punishable by 6, 12, or 16 years.  An example of this is an uncle having sex with his 6 year old niece 5 times over a 6 month period.  

PC 288.7 – It is a crime to have sexual conduct with a child under 10 years old.  This offense is punished by life in prison and should not be taken lightly. 

If you are being investigated for a 288 crime or accused of one, it is essential you reach out to Kristine Koo to discuss your case.  The prosecutor takes these cases very seriously and there are high exposures dealing with these.