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Consequences of Lewd Conduct

Southern California Lewd Act Attorneys

If you reside in California, and have been accused of, or arrested for, lewd conduct you should contact an aggressive lewd act defense lawyer at Criminal Defense Partners immediately. Conviction of a lewd or lascivious act may result in serious legal repercussions, such as monetary fines, incarceration, and registration as a sex offender. At Neil B. Shouse & Associates our skilled lewd act lawyers have the experience and knowledge which are necessary to defend clients who are facing serious sex related criminal charges. If you have been charged with a misdemeanor or felony lewd act in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside or Orange County contact Neil B. Shouse & Associates for a free consultation.

As with other sexually based offenses in California, a lewd conduct conviction may result in serious legal consequences,such as:

• Loss of custody of minor children
• Prohibition from being alone with minors
• Monetary fines
• Imprisonment
• Rehabilitation
• Mandatory AIDS testing
• Probation

Below are excerpts from the California Penal Code regarding lewd conduct laws and the penalties which are associated with convictions:

California Penal Code Section 288(a) states that: "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."

California Penal Code Section 314 states that: "Every person who willfully and lewdly, either: 1. Exposes his person, or the private parts thereof, in any public place, or in any place where there are present other persons to be offended or annoyed thereby; or, 2. Procures, counsels, or assists any person so to expose himself or take part in any model artist exhibition, or to make any other exhibition of himself to public view, or the view of any number of persons, such as is offensive to decency, or is adapted to excite to vicious or lewd thoughts or acts, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Every person who violates subdivision 1 of this section after having entered, without consent, an inhabited dwelling house, or trailer coach as defined in Section 635 of the Vehicle Code, or the inhabited portion of any other building, is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison, or in the county jail not exceeding one year.

Upon the second and each subsequent conviction under subdivision 1 of this section, or upon a first conviction under subdivision 1 of this section after a previous conviction under Section 288, every person so convicted is guilty of a felony, and is punishable by imprisonment in state prison."

Depending upon the circumstances of the conviction, a guilty individual may be forced to pay expensive fines, and in some cases multiple monetary fines. According to California Penal Code Section 288(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).”

Although these punishments may seem extremely harsh, there is more! In addition to serving a jail or prison term and paying fines, an individual convicted of lewd conduct in California must register as a sex offender.

If you are facing lewd act charges in California, contact Criminal Defense Partners to set up a free consultation. One of our experienced lewd conduct defense attorneys will provide you with outstanding legal advice and information. If our firm takes your case, we will fight aggressively to protect you and your record.