California prosecutors take sexual offenses very seriously, trying particularly aggressively cases that involve oral copulation by fear or force, or in other words, forced oral copulation. Forced oral copulation is a type of sex offense relating to nonconsensual contact between a person's mouth and another's genitals or force.

The consequences can be severe, ranging from years in prison, hefty fines, and the sex offender registration requirement. If you have been charged with forced oral copulation, you want to talk to an experienced criminal defense lawyer immediately. A conviction may deny you freedom for several years, while the sex offender registration requirement may have lifetime professional and personal repercussions.

Defining Forced Oral Copulation

The word “oral copulation” is sometimes used in court proceedings, and it generally refers to oral sex. It is very legal to perform oral copulation in California when it is done between or among consenting grownups. Oral copulation is, however, unlawful if:

  • It is done publicly,
  • One or more of the involved parties is a child,
  • It is non-consensual.

The third scenario is what brings about the charges of forced oral copulation. California PC 288a describes forced oral copulation as nonconsensual contact between one person's mouth and another's intimate parts or anus when threat, fear, menace, duress, violence, or force is used. Summarily, forced oral copulation is like oral sex rape.

For the judge to find you criminally liable for forced oral copulation, the prosecution must prove various facts beyond a reasonable. These are called making up the crime. The crime of forced oral copulation is made up of three elements. These are:

  • You performed an oral copulation act on another party. As earlier mentioned, this means contact between a person's mouth and another's genitals or anus. It could be that you made your mouth come into contact with the victim’s genitals or anus or made your genitals or anus come into contact with the victim’s mouth. Penetration is unnecessary for a conviction to occur.
  • That party never consented to your act. That means the person resisted your act or was lawfully incapable of consenting (for example, because they were disabled, unconscious, intoxicated, or have a mental disorder).
  • You used violence, force, menace, duress, fear of imminent and unlawful physical injury to another person, or threats to retaliate against another person. In other words, this element includes any case of psychological duress or bodily force to make a person carry out an activity they would not otherwise do.

Consider this example: Cathy is on her way home from a nightclub. She is walking alone, and Eddy corners her in a dark corner. He draws a gun and commands that she engage in oral sex with him. Although Eddy did not apply any physical force to compel Cathy to perform oral sex, drawing a gun at her made her have a fear of imminent and unlawful physical injury. In that case, Eddy may be convicted of forced oral copulation.

What Consequences Can You Face?

The consequences for forced oral copulation are harsh. The crime is always considered a felony violation, and the penalties usually include three, six, or eight years in prison and a fine not exceeding ten thousand U.S. dollars. The judge might grant felony probation only where the involved victim had a disability. You will not be granted probation if you applied fear or force or if the involved victim was intoxicated or unconscious.

If the accuser was a child under eighteen years old when the offense occurred, the prosecution could pursue harsher penalties, including six, eight, or ten years in custody if the child was fourteen years or older and eight, ten, or twelve years in prison if the minor was under fourteen.

The penalties will increase further if you are convicted of oral copulation in concert. In concert means you committed the offense with another person or other people. Whether you directly or actively took part in committing the crime or simply aided or abetted the other culprit or culprits does not count. The possible prison terms for forced oral copulation in concert include five, seven, or nine years where the victim involved was an adult; eight, ten, or twelve years where the victim involved was fourteen to seventeen years old; and ten, twelve, or fourteen years where the involved victim was below fourteen years old.

Also, if you are convicted, the court will require you to comply with the sex offender registration requirement for life, meaning you will be registering as a level three sexual offender. That means that each year, within five working days of your birthday and each time you shift to another residence, you must register again with the state or be subject to more felony charges for failing to comply with the sex offender registration requirement.

Note that forced oral copulation on someone with a physical or developmental disability or mental disorder necessitates registration as a tier two sexual offender. That means you will stop registering after twenty years from the conviction date.

Your name showing up on the state's sexual offender registry could lead to you losing your professional license, and it could limit the job positions you could be accepted in and the neighborhoods in which you can stay. Due to the stigma a sex offense conviction brings, it could also have repercussions in your private or personal life.

Other Charges You May Face

Based on the facts surrounding your forced oral copulation case, the prosecution may press additional charges for other related offenses. Or, they drop the forced oral copulation charges and accuse you of another related crime. Related crimes that you may be charged with instead of or alongside forced oral copulation are:

PC Section 253.4, Sexual Battery

Sexual battery is defined under Section 243.4 of the Penal Code as touching someone else’s genitals without their permission and for purposes of sexual arousal, abuse, or gratification. The crime is often a misdemeanor, although it would be a felony if the victim was medically incapacitated, restrained, or unconscious.

You can be charged with forced oral copulation and sexual battery simultaneously due to the element of touch. Under sexual battery law, touch can be directly or indirectly through clothing. Touch also involves making physical contact with the victim's bare clothing. In the context of forced oral copulation, making your mouth come into contact with the victim's genitalia is a form of touch.

PC 261, Rape

PC 261 defines rape as using fraud, threats, or force to have nonconsensual sexual intercourse with someone else. You can be accused of rape and forced oral copulation if you went ahead and penetrated the victim with your penis. The crime is always a felony, punishable by a maximum of eight years in prison and the requirement to register as a sexual offender.

PC 287, Orally Copulating With a Minor

Oral copulation with a minor is defined as having oral sex with someone below 18 years. Note that you can be charged with this crime even if the minor consented to the act. That is because, in California, the age of consent is usually eighteen. Therefore, someone below eighteen years old cannot consent to any form of sexual activity. It does not count whether they were a willing participant and consented. That means consent is not a legitimate defense if you are accused of this crime. You could be charged with violating PC 288a and PC 287 simultaneously if you used force to orally copulate with a child.

Violating PC 287 is a wobbler, meaning the prosecution can file misdemeanor or felony charges based on the case facts and the defendant’s criminal history. A misdemeanor conviction is punishable by a year in jail, misdemeanor probation, and a maximum fine of 1,000 U.S. dollars. A felony conviction carries a maximum of three years in prison, felony probation, and a fine not exceeding ten thousand U.S. dollars.

How You Can Defend Yourself

Since the penalties of forced oral copulation are so harsh, you want to work closely with a criminal defense specializing in sex offense cases. Often, these cases entail mistaken identification, incomplete evidence, or unreliable witness testimony. A knowledgeable criminal defense lawyer will help you to vigorously examine all the case facts and build a compelling defense strategy to defend your legal rights. Some of the defenses the lawyer may argue include:

Insufficient Evidence

Forced oral copulation does not always have physical evidence. Often, the only evidence the prosecution will have is the alleged victim's accusations. In that case, your lawyer may successfully use investigative tools, like a private polygraph test, to persuade the prosecution that it cannot pursue the case against you due to insufficient evidence.

The Victim Consented

In most cases of oral copulation, there is ambiguity regarding whether the victim in question consented to the act. If you have reason to believe that the victim in your case did consent, you should not be convicted. Additionally, proving the absence of consent beyond any reasonable doubt can be challenging. Many cases boil down to “he said or she said” accusations.

Unlawful Search and Seizure

The U.S. Fourth Amendment makes it against the law for the police to arrest or search you without a valid arrest and search warrant. If the police search you without a warrant and obtain any evidence, the evidence should not be admitted in court. Your lawyer can request the judge to strike out any evidence law enforcement officers acquired through an experienced illegal search or forced confession. Should the judge agree, the prosecution may have no option but to dismiss the charges due to lack of evidence.

False Accusations

Someone may accuse you of forced oral copulation for various reasons, including anger, jealousy, or retaliation. For example, if you engage in sex activities with your former spouse after you separated, they might later accuse you out of emotion-informed reasons. Or, an intoxicated party may accuse you of orally copulating them by force based on wrong evidence. Say if they were intoxicated and the only thing they could recall was the aggressor's hair color, then you can argue that you are the person to blame.

Additionally, you can be wrongly accused even if you were not at the accused person's described crime scene. If you face accusations of forced oral copulation and are aware the victim has accused you wrongfully, an attorney can help prove your innocence.

Statute of Limitations for Forced Oral Copulation

The statute of limitations is the law regulating the timeframe within which the prosecution can file criminal charges of forced oral copulation. The period varies based on the facts of the case. If the involved victim was below 18 years old when forced oral copulation happened, the timeframe for the prosecution to file criminal charges elapses when the involved victim turns forty years old. The district attorney may alternatively file charges within a year after:

  • All other statutes of limitations have elapsed.
  • The involved victims filed a police report claiming oral copulation on a child.
  • The accusation is supported by independent details (not including the opinion of a mental health professional).

If the involved victim was eighteen years or older when the crime happened, the time frame to press charges is ten years from the supposed forced oral copulation. Irrespective of the victim's age when the crime occurred, the prosecution may file charges within twelve months after the culprit's identity is determined through DNA testing.

The statutes of limitations may be a legal defense in your case if the supposed offense was not prosecuted per the requirements of the law.

Find a Competent Sex Crime Attorney Near Me

Trusting your freedom with an inexperienced attorney can mess up your life. Sex crime defense is a highly specialized criminal defense area, and whereas all criminal law firms may claim to be experts, we at The LA Criminal Defense Law Firm are among the few that can truly be deemed sex crime defense experts. We have practiced in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas for decades, establishing a reputation in the local courts as experts in sex offense cases.

Thanks to our experience and expertise, we boast the knowledge to develop a compelling defense strategy. During your complimentary consultation with our lawyers, we will center on answering all your questions and offering personalized perspective and insight into the investigative process and the court procedures. Furthermore, we will inform you what to expect and review possible defense strategies after reviewing all the case facts. Call us today at 310-935-1675 to share your case with us.