The Law on Internet Sex Crimes
BURBANK CRIMINAL DEFENSE
Local Law Office
2600 West Olive Avenue
Burbank California 91505
Toll Free 1-877-617-4485
2600 West Olive Avenue
Burbank California 91505
Toll Free 1-877-617-4485
California criminalizes certain conduct over the Internet which is
directed towards children. E-mails which initiate contact with children
under 18 years of age can evolve into a felony if the conversations
discuss sex or sexually explicit conduct. Local Los Angeles police
agencies frequently will stage sting operations which target individuals
seeking young girls. These undercover operations are often refereed
to as "child predator" task forces or Internet predator task force
stings. The typical sting involves an adult police officer posing as a
young girl in a on-line chat room. The officer will engage the suspect
in conversation and will bait the individual to start discussing sex or
sexual talk. In some instances the chats will progress to the sending of
explicit photographs or other arguably obscene content. The
undercover police officer will then attempt to get the suspect to meet
him or her at a specific location for the purpose of lewd or sexual acts.
If the suspect takes the bait and travels to the meeting point, he is
usually met by a team of law enforcement ready to arrest him for a PC
288 offense.
The law on this subject is codified in the California Penal code as
follows:
Penal Code § 288.2. Sending harmful matter to minor by telephone
messages, electronic mail, Internet, or commercial online service;
Defenses; Exemption of carrier, broadcaster, or transmitter
(a) Every person who, with knowledge that a person is a minor, or who fails to exercise
reasonable care in ascertaining the true age of a minor, knowingly distributes, sends,
causes to be sent, exhibits, or offers to distribute or exhibit by any means, including, but
not limited to, live or recorded telephone messages, any harmful matter, as defined in
Section 313, to a minor with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust or
passions or sexual desires of that person or of a minor, and with the intent or for the
purpose of seducing a minor, is guilty of a public offense and shall be punished by
imprisonment in the state prison or in a county jail.
A person convicted of a second and any subsequent conviction for a violation of this section
is guilty of a felony.
(b) Every person who, with knowledge that a person is a minor, knowingly distributes,
sends, causes to be sent, exhibits, or offers to distribute or exhibit by electronic mail, the
Internet, as defined in Section 17538 of the Business and Professions Code, or a
commercial online service, any harmful matter, as defined in Section 313, to a minor with
the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust or passions or sexual desires of
that person or of a minor, and with the intent, or for the purpose of seducing a minor, is
guilty of a public offense and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison or in
a county jail.
A person convicted of a second and any subsequent conviction for a violation of this section
is guilty of a felony.
(c) It shall be a defense to any prosecution under this section that a parent or guardian
committed the act charged in aid of legitimate sex education.
(d) It shall be a defense in any prosecution under this section that the act charged was
committed in aid of legitimate scientific or educational purposes.
(e) It does not constitute a violation of this section for a telephone corporation, as defined
in Section 234 of the Public Utilities Code, a cable television company franchised
pursuant to Section 53066 of the Government Code, or any of its affiliates, an Internet
service provider, or commercial online service provider, to carry, broadcast, or transmit
messages described in this section or perform related activities in providing telephone,
cable television, Internet, or commercial online services.
§ 288.3. Arrangement of meeting with minor for purpose of engaging in
certain lewd and lascivious behavior; Punishment
(a) (1) Every person who, motivated by an unnatural or abnormal sexual interest in
children, arranges a meeting with a minor or a person he or she believes to be a minor for
the purpose of exposing his or her genitals or pubic or rectal area, having the child expose
his or her genitals or pubic or rectal area, or engaging in lewd or lascivious behavior, shall
be punished by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), by imprisonment in a
county jail not exceeding one year, or by both the fine and imprisonment.
(2) Every person who violates this subdivision after a prior conviction for an offense
listed in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 290 shall be
punished by imprisonment in the state prison.
(b) Every person described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) who goes to the arranged
meeting place at or about the arranged time, shall be punished by imprisonment in the
state prison for two, three, or four years.
(c) Nothing in this section shall preclude or prohibit prosecution under any other
provision of law.
The typical type of arrest for this crime occurs when the police set up
an Internet sting operation with undercover detectives posing as a
fictitious 13 or 14 year old girl and initiate Internet contact with a
suspect. The contacts often lead to a prearranged meeting, when the
adult shows up he is confronted by police, arrested, and forced to post
bail (usually $50,000, but as high as $100,000). The Los Angeles
County District Attorney then files felony charges and the individual is
given a Court date.
If you or someone you know has been arrested for, are being
investigated or are now charged with an Internet sex crime, contact
our team of criminal defense lawyers for a free no obligation case
review and consultation. We can explain your options and provide
critical information to allow you to make intelligent choices.
We are experienced in exonerating innocent individuals wrongfully
accused of these life altering crimes, we FIGHT:
The consequences of a conviction for this type of crime is severe and
can often involve mandatory 290 sex offender registration for life, jail
or prison, and a felony conviction on your record. Over the last few
years our criminal defense attorneys have successfully defended
persons accused of 288 charges through the use of accepted legal
defenses such as entrapment, lack of intent, mistake, factual
innocence and many others.
Call us at 1-877-617-4485 for a free discreet consultation with a
Los Angeles Defense Lawyer that will actually handle your case.
directed towards children. E-mails which initiate contact with children
under 18 years of age can evolve into a felony if the conversations
discuss sex or sexually explicit conduct. Local Los Angeles police
agencies frequently will stage sting operations which target individuals
seeking young girls. These undercover operations are often refereed
to as "child predator" task forces or Internet predator task force
stings. The typical sting involves an adult police officer posing as a
young girl in a on-line chat room. The officer will engage the suspect
in conversation and will bait the individual to start discussing sex or
sexual talk. In some instances the chats will progress to the sending of
explicit photographs or other arguably obscene content. The
undercover police officer will then attempt to get the suspect to meet
him or her at a specific location for the purpose of lewd or sexual acts.
If the suspect takes the bait and travels to the meeting point, he is
usually met by a team of law enforcement ready to arrest him for a PC
288 offense.
The law on this subject is codified in the California Penal code as
follows:
Penal Code § 288.2. Sending harmful matter to minor by telephone
messages, electronic mail, Internet, or commercial online service;
Defenses; Exemption of carrier, broadcaster, or transmitter
(a) Every person who, with knowledge that a person is a minor, or who fails to exercise
reasonable care in ascertaining the true age of a minor, knowingly distributes, sends,
causes to be sent, exhibits, or offers to distribute or exhibit by any means, including, but
not limited to, live or recorded telephone messages, any harmful matter, as defined in
Section 313, to a minor with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust or
passions or sexual desires of that person or of a minor, and with the intent or for the
purpose of seducing a minor, is guilty of a public offense and shall be punished by
imprisonment in the state prison or in a county jail.
A person convicted of a second and any subsequent conviction for a violation of this section
is guilty of a felony.
(b) Every person who, with knowledge that a person is a minor, knowingly distributes,
sends, causes to be sent, exhibits, or offers to distribute or exhibit by electronic mail, the
Internet, as defined in Section 17538 of the Business and Professions Code, or a
commercial online service, any harmful matter, as defined in Section 313, to a minor with
the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust or passions or sexual desires of
that person or of a minor, and with the intent, or for the purpose of seducing a minor, is
guilty of a public offense and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison or in
a county jail.
A person convicted of a second and any subsequent conviction for a violation of this section
is guilty of a felony.
(c) It shall be a defense to any prosecution under this section that a parent or guardian
committed the act charged in aid of legitimate sex education.
(d) It shall be a defense in any prosecution under this section that the act charged was
committed in aid of legitimate scientific or educational purposes.
(e) It does not constitute a violation of this section for a telephone corporation, as defined
in Section 234 of the Public Utilities Code, a cable television company franchised
pursuant to Section 53066 of the Government Code, or any of its affiliates, an Internet
service provider, or commercial online service provider, to carry, broadcast, or transmit
messages described in this section or perform related activities in providing telephone,
cable television, Internet, or commercial online services.
§ 288.3. Arrangement of meeting with minor for purpose of engaging in
certain lewd and lascivious behavior; Punishment
(a) (1) Every person who, motivated by an unnatural or abnormal sexual interest in
children, arranges a meeting with a minor or a person he or she believes to be a minor for
the purpose of exposing his or her genitals or pubic or rectal area, having the child expose
his or her genitals or pubic or rectal area, or engaging in lewd or lascivious behavior, shall
be punished by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), by imprisonment in a
county jail not exceeding one year, or by both the fine and imprisonment.
(2) Every person who violates this subdivision after a prior conviction for an offense
listed in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 290 shall be
punished by imprisonment in the state prison.
(b) Every person described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) who goes to the arranged
meeting place at or about the arranged time, shall be punished by imprisonment in the
state prison for two, three, or four years.
(c) Nothing in this section shall preclude or prohibit prosecution under any other
provision of law.
The typical type of arrest for this crime occurs when the police set up
an Internet sting operation with undercover detectives posing as a
fictitious 13 or 14 year old girl and initiate Internet contact with a
suspect. The contacts often lead to a prearranged meeting, when the
adult shows up he is confronted by police, arrested, and forced to post
bail (usually $50,000, but as high as $100,000). The Los Angeles
County District Attorney then files felony charges and the individual is
given a Court date.
If you or someone you know has been arrested for, are being
investigated or are now charged with an Internet sex crime, contact
our team of criminal defense lawyers for a free no obligation case
review and consultation. We can explain your options and provide
critical information to allow you to make intelligent choices.
We are experienced in exonerating innocent individuals wrongfully
accused of these life altering crimes, we FIGHT:
- False Allegations of 288 crimes
- False Police Reports
- Entrapment
- Illegal Search and Seizure
- Fabricated Evidence
- Constitutional Rights Violations
The consequences of a conviction for this type of crime is severe and
can often involve mandatory 290 sex offender registration for life, jail
or prison, and a felony conviction on your record. Over the last few
years our criminal defense attorneys have successfully defended
persons accused of 288 charges through the use of accepted legal
defenses such as entrapment, lack of intent, mistake, factual
innocence and many others.
Call us at 1-877-617-4485 for a free discreet consultation with a
Los Angeles Defense Lawyer that will actually handle your case.
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changes in California Law | Spousal Abuse | Search Warrant | What does a Lawyer Cost | Violation of
probation | Sex Offense Registration Law | Consequences for Leaving the scene of an accident | Illegal
Weapons Possession | Assault and Battery | Marijuana Lawyer | Elder Abuse Law | Criminal immigration
Consequences | Identity Theft and credit card theft Lawyers | DMV Law | The City of Burbank
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