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Sex Crimes Glossary of Terms

For people who are in need of sex crimes defense attorney San Diego, it is very important to get familiar with different types of sex offenses. Sex crimes are divided into three categories – misdemeanors, wobblers, and felonies. Here are brief explanations of all of them, provided by the leading San Diego sex crimes attorneys.

Indecent exposure

We begin with the misdemeanors. Indecent exposure is a crime involving purposefully displaying one’s genitalia in public, making other people feel offended or alarmed. Experts say that the reason for committing indecent exposure is either for sexual gratification or the enticement of a sexual response.

Solicitation

Civil law defines solicitation as the act of any instance of requesting, seeking, or appealing to funds or other items that are of value. It can be made in person, in writing, or by using electronic methods. When it comes to sex crimes, the type of solicitation that a sex crime defense attorney San Diego would usually face is solicitation of prostitution.

Solicitation of prostitution is certainly the most common type of solicitation, and it involves a person requesting that another person perform an act of a sexual nature in exchange for money. It is necessary for the sexual act to be completed in order for criminal charges to take effect.

Prostitution

While solicitation of prostitution entails offering monetary compensation for performing a sexual act, prostitution is the other way round. It is defined as a criminal act that includes exchange of sexual acts in hope of receiving economic gain. It can include stimulation, copulation, or intercourse.

Improperly touching a child

The act of improperly touching a child or a minor can be defined as any inappropriate exposure of a child to sexual behavior, activity, or contact. The basic way to distinguish the type of touching that can be filed under inappropriate is to divide the touches into the good and the bad categories.

Good touches are those used to express positive emotions, such as hugging and holding hands, while bad touches include those touches a child is uncomfortable with, such as the touching of private parts and other intimate regions.

Lewd acts

Any act, sexual in nature, can be considered lewd or lascivious if deemed shocking or indecent by another person. This can include the previously mentioned indecent exposure, fondling in public, publicly viewing pornography, phone calls which are sexually vulgar, and even urinating in public.

Sexual battery

We begin with the second category – wobbler sex crimes. These are sex crimes that can be filed either as felonies or as misdemeanors, depending on the criminal history of the defendant, the victim, and the extent of the crime itself. This is where an experienced sex crime defense attorney San Diego could make a difference.

When it comes to sexual battery, it is described as a crime involving criminal sexual touching or conduct. It is different from rape because it does not involve actual intercourse or any kind of forced penetration. It is, basically, any type of unwanted or offensive sexual contact with another person’s body.

Statutory rape

This terms refers to the act of engaging in a sexual activity with a person under the legal age defined by law necessary to give consent. The minimal age at which a person can legally consent varies from state to state, but is always from the age of 15, to the age of 18.

Technically, all sexual activities falling under the category of statutory rape are consensual. However, the consent of a minor is not recognized by the law.

Sodomy

Illegal acts of sodomy include oral or anal sex, and can include any kind of non-procreative sexual activity, either between two people, or between a person and an animal. Historically, prosecution of sodomy has been extremely rare, and enforcement was targeted against homosexuals.

Child pornography

Child exploitation and pornography are illegal in all 50 states, and are the first of the felony sex crimes we are going to discuss. Child pornography pertains to making, owning, viewing or distributing any photographs, videos or CG images and videos of individuals under the age of 18 engaged in sexually explicit behavior.

Persons charged with any crimes that involves child pornography can be severely penalized. These penalties include fines, imprisonment, and sex offender registration. A first time offender can be subject to a prison sentence of up to 30 years.

Rape

Besides child pornography, the most serious sex crimes that sex crimes defense attorneys San Diego face are various categories of rape. If you have been accused of any of these grave sex crimes, it might be wise to get acquainted with California sex offender sentencing guidelines as well.

There are three main categories of rape that, unlike statutory rape, are not wobbler sex crimes, but fall directly into the category of felony sexual crimes.  These are forcible rape, spousal rape, and date rape.

Forcible rape refers to any act of sexual intercourse committed without previously receiving consent from another person. It includes the use of force, intimidation, or threats. Most states require actual penetration to be performed in order to classify an act as forcible rape, while some also define forcible rape as a use of any object to perform non-consensual penetration.

Date rape means that the person who has performed this illegal act is in some sort of a relationship with the victim. It can be a romantic relationship, a friendship, or an outing to a date. It is rampant in high school and college communities, with the overuse of drugs and alcohol making people ripe for being sexually harassed.

Spousal rape is an occurrence where a person within a relationship or marriage does not give the partner consent for a sexual intercourse.

Best sex crimes defense attorney San Diego

Charges for sex crimes can have drastic consequences, if only for the social stigma that surround them. It is easy to be labeled a sex offender, even after being proven innocent of the crime. The important thing is to know that you deserve to be defended in the court of law, and there is no better person for the job that Vik Monder of Monder Criminal Lawyer Group. Contact us today!