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Criminal defense attorneys defending those accused of child molestation in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange Counties
"Nothing is worse than the sexual abuse of a child. Except, perhaps, for being falsely accused of it."
We invite you to watch our short video addressing the problem of people across California being falsely accused of Penal Code 288 crimes:
California Penal Code 288 defines a series of crimes alleging lewd or lascivious acts with a child or minor. The most serious of these offenses, Penal Code 288a, alleges lewd and lascivious behavior with a child under the age of 14. A conviction for this offense carries up to 8 years of California state prison per lewd act, or life in prison on a second conviction.
Although child molestation is a serious problem in our society, we are seeing an equally disturbing trend: children making up false allegations of sexual abuse, often for the purpose of (a) gaining attention or (b) getting the (wrongfully) accused person in serious trouble.
Definition of a Lewd Act Upon a Child
California law defines a "lewd act on a child" as any touching of the child done with the intent to gratify the lust, passions or sexual desires of either the suspect or a child. The touching can occur anywhere on the child's body; it does not necessarily have to be on a sexual organ.
It is also considered lewd and lascivious behavior if the person has the child touch him/her (the suspect) for the purpose of achieving sexual gratification.
The most common Penal Code 288 offenses are:
Why and How Children Make Up
False Allegations of Molestation
The sexual abuse of children amounts to a serious and pervasive problem in our society. Yet a flip side to this tragic situation exists. It is not uncommon for children to make up false accusations of sexual abuse and child molestation. The causes many innocent people to be accused of-and sometimes wrongfully convicted of-Penal Code 288 lewd and lascivious acts with a child.
Motives for Making False Allegations
Children make false accusations for a variety of reasons: anger, jealousy, confusion, manipulation. For example, a girl may accuse her mother's new live-in boyfriend of lewd acts because she doesn't like him, because she misses her father, because she wants him out of the picture, and because she wants more of her mother's time and attention. Or an adolescent may point the finger at an innocent parent who the child perceives as being neglectful, unloving or favoring another sibling.
Children Learn about Sexual Matters from the Media
When it comes to understanding sexual matters, children today are more sophisticated than in previous generations. They learn about sexual matters at a very early age from TV, from movies, from friends, from the internet and from sex education classes. Sometimes, they use this knowledge to contrive false stories about being sexually abused.
Children Become "Committed" to the False Story
Once they report a false incident to an adult (such as a parent, teacher, school counselor, social worker or police officer), they feel committed to perpetuating the story. The situation becomes more serious than they expected. They fear the repercussions of "coming clean" and admitting that the story is false. The story takes on a life of its own.
The Authorities Take the Allegation at Face Value
Too often, the police, social workers and counselors fail to scrutinize the allegation. They don't press the child about inconsistencies and implausibility in the story, for fear of upsetting the child further. They take the child's story at face value. They start the case with the assumption that the accusation is true. The agenda of the case is not an impartial search for truth, but rather a campaign to maximize the chance that the accused gets convicted in court.
Critical investigation of the child and the motives behind the accusation-which might have revealed falsities in the story-gets omitted.
Investigating the Child's Background, History and Motives
The background of the accuser and the circumstances of the lewd behavior accusation should be scrutinized by an experienced lewd conduct defense lawyer and defense investigator. In conducting the defense investigation, it may be advisable to subpoena the accuser's school records, counseling records, medical records; and to talk to the child's teachers, friends, and other kids from school and the neighborhood.
Often times, we find that the child has a reputation for lying, that he/she a history of making false stories about other people, and that he/she suffers from behavioral and social problems characteristic of false storytellers. Moreover, we often find that the accusing child has particular motives for wanting to place the accused person in trouble.
Mitigation Defense
In other cases, the evidence is such that there is no question that the suspect committed the lewd or lascivious act with a child. The defense is not based on refuting the allegations, but rather on showing that the conduct is unlikely to recur.
In these situations, the defense must show that the lewd act was an isolated incident, and that the defendant is not a pedophile. If so, the judge or prosecutor is more likely to settle the Penal Code 288 case on lenient terms than if it appears that the suspect poses a continuing threat to minors.
Typically, in this situation, we have a psychotherapist evaluate the suspect and write what is called a Penal Code 288.1 report: an evaluation of the likelihood that the conduct will recur. A favorable report can result in minimizing the penalties.
If You Have Been Accused of Penal Code 288.
If you or a loved one has been accused of, arrested for or charged with child molestation under Penal Code 288, contact one of our lewd acts defense attorneys immediately. We have had great success in defending against these allegations.
Further Internet Resources
- Defense of Child Molestation Charges
Discussion of the psychology and motivation behind making false allegations of child sexual abuse and child molestation.
- False Allegations of Child Abuse
Article by former medical examiner on the forensic science used in investigating false claims of child sexual abuse.
- FalseAbuse.com
Assistance with false allegations of child abuse, accusations of sexual abuse, molestation, and incest often found in divorce litigation and criminal trials.
- Advise for Men
Advice for men facing false accusations of child sexual abuse.
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