Comparing California & Nevada Lewd Conduct Laws

Posted on January 31, 2022

Nevada law as to lewd conduct offenses is generally modeled upon California law. But Nevada’s statutes cast a wider net and impose harsher punishments.

1. What is California’s lewd conduct law?

Penal Code 647a PC is the California statute on lewd conduct in public. The law prohibits people from touching themselves sexually while in public when third parties are present who might be offended.

2. What is Nevada’s lewd conduct law?

NRS 201.210 is Nevada’s law on open or gross lewdness. It is similar to PC 647a but applies regardless of whether a third party who might be offended is present. Two persons engaged in sexual activity in a public location can be charged under NRS 201.210 even if they are the only two people at the site.

3. What are the penalties?

A violation of Penal Code 647a is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in county jail.

A violation of NRS 201.210 is typically a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail.

A person convicted of a second offense of Nevada’s NRS 201.210 is guilty of a felony. A second offender under California Penal Code 647a still faces only a misdemeanor.

4. What about laws on lewd acts with children?

California’s Penal Code 288 defines lewd acts with a child under 14. Nevada’s NRS 201.230 applies to lewdness with a child under 16. Both make it a crime to touch children anywhere on their bodies if the touching is done for the sexual gratification of either the perpetrator or the child.

While PC 288 carries a penalty of up to 8 years in prison, an NRS 201.230 conviction is punishable by life in prison (with the possibility of parole).

Although the two states’ laws are very similar, Nevada’s law has a further reach and a more potent punch. (Refer to our article on “Five things to know about California criminal expungements.”)