I have seen an upswing in filings of late for a variety of sex crimes in children under the age of 18. One of the crimes most often alleged is California Penal Code 289—sexual penetration by foreign or unknown object. The text of the code partly reads as follows (from the California Legislature Information)
289.
(a) (1) (A) Any person who commits an act of sexual penetration when the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight years.
(B) Any person who commits an act of sexual penetration upon a child who is under 14 years of age, when the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 8, 10, or 12 years.
(C) Any person who commits an act of sexual penetration upon a minor who is 14 years of age or older, when the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 6, 8, or 10 years.
If your child is under investigation or arrested for violating this penal code, it is so important to have a skilled attorney involved from the very beginning of the investigation. A thorough investigation and discussing the events with a child, the parents, the detectives and/or the Prosecutor can be the difference from the case being filed and your child being detained in juvenile hall.
In this age of the Me Too Movement, it is so important to discuss with your children what boundaries are and that if their partner says no, they must stop immediately. I always encourage minors to wait as long as possible before engaging in any kind of sexual act, but of course that is not always realistic. Honest conversations with your children is so important—and remember if police or the school get involved, contact a skilled criminal defense attorney as soon as possible.
Case In Point:
When I was contacted by a frightened couple a few months ago, I immediately had my investigator interview all witnesses involved in my client’s case and I delved into the charges. We had uncovered so much evidence that directly contradicted the victim’s version of the story, we turned over what we found to the Prosecutors who decidedly dropped the charges. Now that 17 year old client is applying to Colleges and has been vindicated. Nothing beats that feeling!