Often, folks don't fully realize they've committed sexual battery. They believe they haven't had contact with another in a way not allowed by law. The Law Office of Nic Cocis and Associates understands this, and we want to make sure our clients get authoritative representation according to the way California looks at Sexual Battery.
California Penal Code 243.4 explains it best when it says: If you "touch an intimate part of another" while the other is "unlawfully restrained" --by you, or by your friend-- if the "intimate touching" is "against the will" of the other person, and if the touching is for your "sexual gratification or arousal" or for "sexual abuse", you can be charged with sexual battery and ordered into a county jail for up to one year. You can also be required to pay a $2,000 fine.
California law doesn't stop there. It goes on to declare: If you "touch an intimate part of another" who is "institutionalized for medical reasons" and who is "seriously disabled or medically incompetent"(like in a nursing home or hospital), or who is "unconscious" and thus cannot give consent--and if you've gotten "sexually gratified" by this touching--you can be charged with sexual battery .
If you've convinced another person--by misrepresenting yourself and your intentions (like pretending you're a medical professional) so that he, or she, will trust you--and you engage in "intimate touching" that is really "against the will" of the other--you can be charged with sexual battery.
The fine and imprisonment penalties increase if the person you've "touched intimately" and "without consent" and for the goal of "sexual abuse" and/or your "sexual gratification" is under the age of 18 (a minor), or is your employee.
California law deems it irrelevant if you've "touched intimately" only "through the clothing" of another, and that you didn't know that certain body parts were off-limits. The term "intimate parts" means "any and all sexual organs."
So, if you believe you've engaged in any of the above-described behaviors that constitute sexual battery, and if you've been charged with sexual battery in Temecula, Murrieta, Lake Elsinore, Wildomar, Menifee, Winchester, Hemet, Perris, Banning, Corona, Winchester or Riverside, CA, it's important that you obtain the assistance of an effective and experienced criminal defense attorney. Call my office immediately to schedule a free consultation directly with me.