Child molestation/abuse cases need to be navigated with care because a conviction can mean a life registration as a child sex offender.

Most child molestion/abuse cases are prosecuted under California Penal Code § 288(a) which provides that:

“Any person who willfully and lewdly commits any lewd or lascivious act..upon or with the body, or any part or member thereof, of a child who is under the age of 14 years, with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions, or sexual desires of that person or the child, is guilty of a felony.”

The punishment for a conviction for committing a lewd or lascivious act on a child under the age of 14 is confinement to state prison for a term of 3, 6 or 8 years.  Moreover, once you are out of prison, you will have to register as a child sex offender and your conviction will be available on the internet for everyone to see.

However, if the child is living at the offender’s home at the time that the offenses occured, the offense maybe charged under California Penal Code § 288.5(a) which provides that continuous sexual abuse is:

“Any person who either resides in the same home with the minor child or has recurring access to the child, who over a period of time, not less than three months in duration, engages in three or more acts of substantial sexual conduct with a child under the age of 14 years at the time of the commission of the offense…or three or more acts of lewd or lascivious conduct…with a child under the age of 14 years at the time of the commission of the offense is guilty of the offense of continuous sexual abuse of a child.”

The punishment for a conviction for continuous sexual abose is confinement to state prison for a term of 6, 12 or 16 years.  Moreover, once you are out of prison, you will have to register as a child sex offender and your conviction will be available on the internet for everyone to see.

For crimes where the defendant is above the age of 18 and the victim is 10 years old or younger, California Penal Code § 288.5(a) provides the following punishments:

• Sexual Intercourse – 25 yeras to Life
• Oral Copulation – 15 years to Life