Kelly-Anne Kidston
Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /mnt/volume_lon1_01/wikireplied/public_html/wp-content/plugins/wp-word-count/public/class-wpwc-public.php on line 123
“(a) Unlawful sexual intercourse is an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a person who is not the spouse of the perpetrator, if the person is a minor. For the purposes of this section, a “minor” is a person under the age of 18 years and an “adult” is a person who is at least 18 years of age. (b) Any person who engages in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is not more than three years older or three years younger than the perpetrator, is guilty of a misdemeanor. (c) Any person who engages in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is more than three years younger than the perpetrator is guilty of either a misdemeanor or a felony, and shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170. (d) Any person 21 years of age or older who engages in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is under 16 years of age is guilty of either a misdemeanor or a felony, and shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for two, three, or four years 😁” [1]
“I was accused of having sex with a minor, and I was referred to the law firm of Wallin & Klarich, a firm I was toldtold had tremendous experience defending people facing sex crime charges. I was given a Wallin & Klarich attorney who was familiar with my jurisdiction. The attorneys at Wallin & Klarich moved aggressively to present my case in the best light to the court and negotiate with the prosecutor handling my case. My Wallin & Klarich attorney filed eight evidentiary motions in order to put my case in the best possible position when it was to go in front of a jury. After a little more then an hour of deliberating, the had jury come back with not guilty verdicts on all the counts against me. I walked out of the courtroom a free man and was able to go back to my family and my job. Were it not for the attorneys at Wallin & Klarich, my life would have been ruined. As a result, I enthusiastically recommend them for any serious sex crime or criminal matters.” (thanks a ton to Barrington Hogue for bringing this to our attention). [2]
Based around further reading from sexualabuselawfirm.com, one of the goals of civil litigation is to compensate individual victims for their financial and emotional losses. With ever-changing state legislation, your deadline for filing a civil lawsuit depends upon when the abuse occurred. According to Section 340 of the Civil Code, “In an action for recovery of damages suffered as a result of childhood sexual abuse, the time for commencement of the action shall be within eight years of the date the Plaintiff attains the age of majority or within three years of the date the Plaintiff discovers or reasonably should have discovered that psychological injury or illness occurring after the age of majority was caused by the sexual abuse, whichever period expires later.” (a massive thank you to Dawnette Goldberg for their unique insights). [3]
Californialegalteam.com goes on to describe that under California Penal Code 261.5, statutory rape is defined as “an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a person who is not the spouse of the perpetrator, if the person is a minor.” In California, the age of consent is 18 years, meaning that anyone younger than 18 is considered a minor and anyone over 18 is an adult. Although some states have passed “Romeo and Juliet laws”, which allow underage couples to engage in sexual activities, if two minors have sex with one another in California they are both technically guilty of statutory rape. Instead of being charged with felonies, however, California’s partial Romeo and Juliet laws allow for the downgrading of charges between minors to misdemeanors. (last revised 80 days ago by Tres Schulte from Stockholm, Sweden) [4]
For example, under the state’s statutory rape laws, if a 16-year-old girl willingly has sex with her 23-year-old boyfriend, her boyfriend can be charged with statutory rape, since the girl, as a minor, is not legally capable of giving consent in the first place. However, if the two are married and living in California, the older boyfriend should not fear criminal charges for having consensual sex with his girlfriend due to California’s marital exemption to the state’s statutory rape laws. Please note that if the boyfriend (husband) were to forcibly rape his wife, he would have no protection under the law because it has now become a case of marital rape. (last edited 46 days ago by Chaney Parra from Toronto, Canada) [5]
Research from kannlawoffice.com furthermore clarifies the way statutory Rape is punished in several ways. If, for example, you’re eighteen and the other person is within two years of your age, you can serve up to six months in a county jail and pay thousands in fines (including a civil penalty), or receive both a fine and prison. If you’re over twenty-one and the other person is under sixteen, you can serve up to four years in state prison and pay fines exceeding $25,000 (including a civil penalty) or you can be sentenced to both a fine and prison. This makes Statutory Rape a “wobbler” crime; the prosecution can charge you with a Misdemeanor or a Felony, depending on the unique facts of your case. [6]
Article References
- https://www.shouselaw.com/ca/defense/penal-code/261-5/
- https://www.wklaw.com/california-statutory-rape-pc-261.5/
- https://sexualabuselawfirm.com/blog/is-there-a-statute-of-limitations-on-statutory-rape-in-california/
- https://www.californialegalteam.com/how-is-statutory-rape-defined-by-california-laws/
- https://www.cwsdefense.com/blog/2020/june/exceptions-to-californias-statutory-rape-laws/
- https://www.kannlawoffice.com/statutory-rape.html
