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Rancho Cucamonga Statutory Rape Defense Attorney

California Statutory Rape Law

California Penal Code 261.5

If you have been arrested for or charged with statutory rape-unlawful sex with a minor-in Southern California under Penal Code Section 261.5, contact one of our California sex crime defense lawyers for a free consultation about your case.

California Penal Code 261.5 (the statutory rape law) makes it illegal to have non-marital sex with a minor under three circumstances:

1. If the minor is less than three years younger than the defendant, the offense is a misdemeanor.

2. If the minor is more than three years younger than the defendant, the statutory rape offense may be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony, and punishment can be up to three years state prison.

3. If the defendant is 21 or over and the minor 16 or younger, the statutory rape offense may be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony, and punishment can be up to four years state prison.

• Sexual intercourse means any penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or genitalia by the penis. Ejaculation is not required.
• It is not a defense that the other person may have consented to the intercourse.
• Under the law, a person becomes one year older as soon as the first minute of his or her birthday has begun.

California Penal Code 261.5

Defense: Good Faith Belief 18 or Over

A person is not guilty of statutory rape if he reasonably and actually believed that the minor was age 18 or older. The state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not reasonably and actually believe that the other person was at least 18 years old.