Sexual Battery in California

Because sexual battery includes acts of inappropriate or more offensive touching, it is considered a more serious battery offense in California that can either be charged as a misdemeanor or felony and can have severe consequences. By definition, any person who touches an intimate part of another person while that person is unlawfully restrained by the accused or an accomplice, and if the touching is against the will of the person touched and is for the purpose of sexual arousal, sexual gratification or sexual abuse, is guilty of sexual battery.

There is a difference between friendly touching, like a gentle touch on the back or on the arm, from unwanted touching that is used for sexual arousal. To prove that a defendent committed sexual battery, the prosecutor must be able to establish that the defendant unlawfully restrained the other person and touched an intimate part of this person or touched this person with his or her own intimate part and that this touching was against the will of the person. An “intimate” part is defined as the anus, groin, sexual organ or buttocks of anyone and the breast of a female. For the case to be charged as a felony, the contact must have been made with the other person’s bare skin. Misdemeanor sexual battery does not require that the other person be restrained or that the touching be with bare skin. Meaning any person who gropes an individual, could be charged with a misdeamonor sexual battery offense.

If you have been charged for sexual battery, consult a lawyer as there are some defenses that can be applied to you. For example, because sexual battery does not involve an injury or physical harm, you could be falsely accused of it. Another defense is that the actions and touching were consensual or non-sexual in nature. As mentioned above, the penalties can vary depending on the nature of the event.

If someone is convicted of sexual battery as a misdemeanor, they could be sentenced to up to six months in jail, expensive court fines, sexual offender programming/counseling sessions and forced to register as a sex offender. If it is charged as a felony, they can face up to four years in prison, significant fines and register as a sex offender. Sexual battery is a very serious crime and has consequences that can last a lifetime. If you find yourself in this situation, contact an attorney immediately.

There’s no substitute for a strong Sacramento criminal attorney.
Call Wing & Parisi at (916) 441-4888.

Contact us online or call at (916) 441-4888 for a free and confidential initial consultation, available in Spanish. We appear in state and federal courts in the Sacramento and Davis communities as well as throughout Placer and San Joaquin counties.

The Law Office of Wing & Parisi serves clients in the Sacramento and Davis communities as well as throughout Placer County and San Joaquin County. Hablamos espanol.