Without specific aggravating factors, annoying or molesting a child is a misdemeanor that is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine. This is also an offense that may be subject to false accusations, especially if the child is mistaken or the child’s parent coaches the child to make the allegations in order to cause trouble for the defendant. Defenses to Annoying or Molesting a ChildĪs mentioned above, if the conduct was not motivated by sexual interest or was not likely to disturb or irritate a child, the defendant would not be guilty of this offense. The man would not be guilty of annoying or molesting the child because his conduct was not motivated by an unnatural or abnormal sexual interest.Ĥ. The jokes are of a lewd and sexual nature and he tells one of them to his 17-year-old nephew. In another example, a man at a family reunion gets drunk and starts telling dirty jokes to various people at the gathering. The fact that he believed he was is enough to satisfy the statute.
The man could be charged with annoying or molesting a child pursuant to California Penal Code Section 647.6 PC even though he was not actually speaking with a 16-year-old girl. The man engages the “girl” in lewd conversations about sex and asks her many sexually charged questions. In reality, the “girl” is an undercover police officer posing as a teen. Statutory Rape - California Penal Code Section 261.5 PCĪ man is chatting online with a person he thinks is a 16 year old girl.Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor - California Penal Code Section 272 PC.Lewd Acts with a Child - California Penal Code Section 288 PC.Other similar or related offenses include: The terms “annoy” and “molest” mean the same thing under the law and “molest” does not necessarily involve physical contact. As mentioned above, it is not necessary that the child be touched. The child does not actually need to be irritated or disturbed by the defendant’s conduct. AND the child was under the age of 18 when the conduct occurred.The defendant’s conduct was motivated by an unnatural or abnormal sexual interest in the child.A normal person, without hesitation, would have been disturbed, irritated, offended, or injured by the defendant’s conduct.The defendant engaged in conduct directed at a child.To prove that a defendant is guilty of annoying or molesting a child, a prosecutor must be able to prove the following elements: Physical contact is not required to be guilty of this offense. Under California Penal Code Section 647.6 PC, it is a crime to annoy or molest someone under 18 years old. While most people know that inappropriate contact with a person under 18 is illegal, many do not realize that words alone can sometimes be enough to get an adult into hot water.