CA Penal Code Section 288 states the following:
(a) Any person who willfully and lewdly commits any lewd or lascivious
act, including any of the acts constituting other crimes provided for
in Part 1, upon or with the body, or any part or member thereof, of a
child who is under the age of 14 years, with the intent of arousing,
appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions, or sexual desires of
that person or the child, is guilty of a felony and shall be punished
by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight years.
(b) (1) Any person who commits an act described in subdivision (a) by
use of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and
unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person, is guilty of
a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison
for three, six, or eight years. (2) Any person who is a caretaker
and commits an act described in subdivision (a) upon a dependent
person by use of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of
immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person,
with the intent described in subdivision (a), is guilty of a felony
and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three,
six, or eight years. (c) (1) Any person who commits an act
described in subdivision (a) with the intent described in that
subdivision, and the victim is a child of 14 or 15 years, and that
person is at least 10 years older than the child, is guilty of a
public offense and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state
prison for one, two, or three years, or by imprisonment in a county
jail for not more than one year. In determining whether the person
is at least 10 years older than the child, the difference in age
shall be measured from the birth date of the person to the birth
date of the child.
(2) Any person who is a caretaker and commits an act described in
subdivision (a) upon a dependent person, with the intent described
in subdivision (a), is guilty of a public offense and shall be
punished by imprisonment in the state prison for one, two, or three
years, or by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one
year.
(d) In any arrest or prosecution under this section or Section 288.5,
the peace officer, district attorney, and the court shall consider
the needs of the child victim or dependent person and shall do
whatever is necessary, within existing budgetary resources, and
constitutionally permissible to prevent psychological harm to the
child victim or to prevent psychological harm to the dependent person
victim resulting from participation in the court process.
(e) Upon the conviction of any person for a violation of subdivision
(a) or (b), the court may, in addition to any other penalty or fine
imposed, order the defendant to pay an additional fine not to exceed
ten thousand dollars ($10,000). In setting the amount of the fine,
the court shall consider any relevant factors, including, but not
limited to, the seriousness and gravity of the offense, the
circumstances of its commission, whether the defendant derived any
economic gain as a result of the crime, and the extent to which the
victim suffered economic losses as a result of the crime. Every fine
imposed and collected under this section shall be deposited in the
Victim-Witness Assistance Fund to be available for appropriation to
fund child sexual exploitation and child sexual abuse victim
counseling centers and prevention programs pursuant to Section 13837.
If the court orders a fine imposed pursuant to this subdivision,
the actual administrative cost of collecting that fine, not to exceed
2 percent of the total amount paid, may be paid into the general fund
of the county treasury for the use and benefit of the county.
(f) For purposes of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) and paragraph
(2) of subdivision (c), the following definitions apply:
(1) "Caretaker" means an owner, operator, administrator, employee,
independent contractor, agent, or volunteer of any of the following
public or private facilities when the facilities provide care for
elder or dependent persons: (A) Twenty-four hour health facilities,
as defined in Sections 1250, 1250.2, and 1250.3 of the Health and
Safety Code.
(B) Clinics.
(C) Home health agencies.
(D) Adult day health care centers.
(E) Secondary schools that serve dependent persons and postsecondary
educational institutions that serve dependent persons or elders.
(F) Sheltered workshops.
(G) Camps.
(H) Community care facilities, as defined by Section 1402 of the
Health and Safety Code, and residential care facilities for the
elderly, as defined in Section 1569.2 of the Health and Safety Code.
(I) Respite care facilities.
(J) Foster homes.
(K) Regional centers for persons with developmental disabilities.
(L) A home health agency licensed in accordance with Chapter 8
(commencing with Section 1725) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety
Code.
(M) An agency that supplies in-home supportive services.
(N) Board and care facilities.
(O) Any other protective or public assistance agency that provides
health services or social services to elder or dependent persons,
including, but not limited to, in-home supportive services, as defined
in Section 14005.14 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(P) Private residences.
(2) "Board and care facilities" means licensed or unlicensed facilities
that provide assistance with one or more of the following activities:
(A) Bathing.
(B) Dressing.
(C) Grooming.
(D) Medication storage.
(E) Medical dispensation.
(F) Money management.
(3) "Dependent person" means any person who has a physical or mental
impairment that substantially restricts his or her ability to carry out
normal activities or to protect his or her rights, including, but not
limited to, persons who have physical or developmental disabilities or
whose physical or mental abilities have significantly diminished
because of age. "Dependent person" includes any person who is admitted
as an inpatient to a 24-hour health facility, as defined in Sections
1250, 1250.2, and 1250.3 of the Health and Safety Code.
(g) Paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) and paragraph (2) of subdivision
(c) apply to the owners, operators, administrators, employees,
independent contractors, agents, or volunteers working at these public
or private facilities and only to the extent that the individuals
personally commit, conspire, aid, abet, or facilitate any act
prohibited by paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) and paragraph (2) of
subdivision (c).
(h) Paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) and paragraph (2) of subdivision
(c) do not apply to a caretaker who is a spouse of, or who is in an
equivalent domestic relationship with, the dependent person under care.
Now this is fairly long penal code section, so we will break it down
a few parts. Today we will cover section (a). Section (a) states
that any person (mom, dad, brother, stranger, or other family member)
who willfully (with intent and purpose) and lewdly (done for purpose
of sexual arousal in the defendant or victim) commits any lewd or lascivious act, including any of the acts constituting other crimes provided for in Part 1, upon or with the body (touching the victim
or having the victim touch the defendant, with hands, arms, feet, face
or any other body part), or any part or member thereof, of a child who is under the age of 14 years, with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions, or sexual desires of that person or the child, is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight years.
As you can see this is a serious offense and carries numerous consequences.
The Defendant will likely receive a strike for the purpose of three
strike's law, will have to give blood and saliva samples and may or may not
have to pay a fine of up to $10,000.00. The defendant will likely
face a restraining order, reporting as a sex offender and more than like
jail time (it is highly unlikely that an individual convicted of this
crime will get probation - but it is not impossible).
All trial counsel must appear and be prepared to discuss the case and determine whether the case can be disposed of without trial;