Offenses related to violating minors attract serious repercussions because they are a vulnerable group in society. Therefore, facing charges of contacting a minor to commit a felony can result in severe consequences for you, including extended jail sentences. Upon facing arrest and charges, you need to contact a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible to help combat the charges. Their involvement will help you prepare for trial and build strong defenses to increase the chances of a favorable outcome.
With Los Angeles Criminal Lawyer, you can expect to receive excellent criminal defense services to help you fight the charges. Your assigned attorney conducts thorough research on the case and prepares information to help you persuade the judge of your innocence. Moreover, you can expect constant support and case updates to inform you about your progress. Your attorney will also be ready to represent you in court and deliver the verbal arguments to counter the prosecutor’s accusations against you.
What Contacting a Minor to Commit a Felony Entails
Upon receiving a charge sheet detailing your offense, you need to understand what it entails and the possible repercussions you may face. Section 288.3 of the California Penal Code defines contacting a minor to commit a felony as any action you took to communicate with someone below eighteen years, intending to commit a criminal offense with them.
The broad scope of the penal code definition means that you may be answerable to the charge if the prosecutor can successfully prove that your contact with the minor involved criminal intentions. Since multiple offenses with minors can amount to a felony charge, the prosecutor focuses on your specific case facts to develop your case.
Additionally, the offense attracts severe repercussions and is often classified as a felony. Hence, you will need to argue your case in court and prepare credible defenses to avoid the outcome.
The presiding judge or jury may be stricter with their case determinations because the charge involves violating a minor. Subsequently, you want to work with a skilled criminal defense lawyer to help you understand essential pointers before and during the trial.
Elements of the Crime for the Prosecutor to Prove
After the prosecutor takes over your case, they also take on the burden of proof to establish that you committed the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. The importance of satisfying this requirement is to ensure that innocent suspects do not face criminal penalties, as it would violate their constitutional rights. For example, you have a right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The prosecutor’s role is to establish that you involve yourself in contacting a minor to commit a felony beyond a reasonable doubt. To do this, the prosecution team breaks down the case into elements of the crime that all add up to prove your position.
By breaking down the case presentation into elements, the prosecutor can work on specific factors and ensure they do not leave any doubt about your criminal engagements. Therefore, your criminal defense team should remain alert and follow the proceedings to ensure the prosecutor does not present false statements.
The main elements of crime in contacting a minor to committing a felony are:
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You Contacted or Attempted to Contact a Minor
The first element to prove is that you contacted a minor, meaning that you reached them and conveyed some information. Establishing this fact is crucial to developing the case because the prosecutor cannot argue on any other point if you did not contact a minor.
Subsequently, The prosecutor must expound on the type of contact you made to demonstrate your actions towards the minor. For example, you may have called the minor and engaged them in a conversation.
If so, the prosecutor must retrieve the call log details, including the number you used to contact the child and the call duration. You can also expect the prosecutor to present information about how long the call was; in some instances, a recording of the phone call may be available.
Alternatively, you may have sent text messages or emails through the internet to the minor. Similarly, the prosecutor should retrieve the necessary evidence sources to show that you were responsible for sending the communication to the child. Hence, they will present the specific text messages or email exchanges, along with the delivery, and read receipts to show that the minor received them.
Since texts or mail comprises words for reference, the prosecutor can also deconstruct the messages you sent. Doing so is especially relevant if you use metaphors or coded language to communicate with the minor. Moreover, the words can easily reveal your criminal intentions, depending on the instructions you give to the child.
The prosecutor can also present a case against you if you communicate to the minor in person. The primary source of information will be witness testimonies or statements from the minor or other persons present when you spoke to the child. They will need to demonstrate that you talked to the minor and that the topic of conversation focused on planning a meeting with the child.
Other communication types like radio, social media, or print media are also acceptable in court to show that you communicated to the minor. Thus, you need to remain alert and observe how the prosecutor builds on your case to determine the best defense strategy to apply.
Noteworthy, you may also be answerable for the offense by attempting to contact a minor. Therefore, your actions to reach a minor do not necessarily have to succeed for the prosecutor to institute a suit against you. For example, if you sent the child a text they did not read, the case can proceed based on your attempt to reach them.
The law covers attempted actions because they portray an intention to commit an offense, even if you fail. As a result, your criminal defense team should focus on preparing defenses that negate your alleged intent to violate the law by contacting the minor in question.
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You Intended to Commit a Felony With the Minor
Secondly, the prosecutor must show that you intended to commit a felony with the minor when you communicated or attempted to communicate with them. Demonstrating this element is critical to the case, as it shows that you intended to violate the law.
Therefore, the prosecutor focuses on the specific crime you planned to engage the minor in based on the circumstantial evidence that can point to your actions. Based on this, the most evidential sources come from witness statements and any other actions you undertook to prepare for your anticipated interaction with the minor.
For example, if you hired a vehicle to use in kidnapping the minor, the prosecutor must back their accusations with sufficient evidence of how you intended to do so. Without proper evidential backing, the accusations will amount to mere speculation, making it difficult for the prosecutor to prove the element.
Examples of Felony Crimes Linked to the Charges
Usually, the offense of contacting a minor to commit a felony includes a link to a subsequent offense that you intended to commit if the minor complied. Thus, the prosecutor must determine the type of felony in which you plan to engage the minor when building their case to ensure it has an understandable structure.
Notably, many felony offenses involving minors relate to sexual abuse, which varies depending on the actions that accused persons participate in. Consulting your attorney on the different elements of the crime that each felony entails is necessary to help you understand the case severity. Common felonies that arrested offenders intend to commit with a minor include:
Child Endangerment
Endangering a child is prohibited under section 273(a) of the California Penal Code. Its main elements of the crime include insulating a minor and subjecting them to harsh conditions that inflict physical and psychological pain.
For example, beating the child, torturing them, and abusing them by subjecting them to harsh conditions all amount to child endangerment. The offense may also involve threatening the child not to disclose the information to anyone, meaning that you will have repeated the crime severally.
Contacting a minor to commit child endangerment is an offense under section 288.3, attracting criminal charges. Thus, the prosecutor should demonstrate how you intended to endanger the child on top of contacting or attempting to contact the minor.
Committing Rape
Secondly, the prosecutor may also suspect you of committing rape, contrary to section 261 of the California Penal Code. The offense involves forcibly having sexual intercourse with a minor and often involves causing physical harm or using threats to compel the minor to comply.
Committing rape against a minor is already a serious criminal offense, so the prosecutor should have sufficient evidence to prove that you intended to rape the child in question. Since a minor cannot legally consent to any sexual activity based on age, you may face accusations even if they agree to meet you after contacting them.
Kidnapping the Minor
Alternatively, you may have contacted the minor to kidnap them, which involves removing them from their usual environment without consent. Additionally, the elements of crime in kidnapping a minor often include threatening or making them fearful if they fail to comply with your orders.
Nevertheless, the prosecutor can also present a case successfully even if you did not use force or fear to compel the minor to go with you. For example, if you contacted any child below fourteen years, they fall within the tender age category. Thus, the law views them as incapable of making rational decisions, including determining when they are endangering their safety.
Additionally, if you used false representations or kidnapped the minor to commit sexual abuse, the prosecutor does not also need to prove that you used force or fear. Thus, the prosecutor in the current case must provide sufficient evidence to show you contacted the minor to kidnap them.
Additional felonies that you may have contacted the minor to engage in include:
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Illegal Sodomy
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Committing Lewd Acts With the Minor
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Forcible Sexual Penetration Using a Foreign Object
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You Were Aware That the Person You Contacted Was a Minor
Lastly, the prosecutor should show that you knew the person you contacted was a minor and proceeded to reach them. They also focus on delivering that you ought to have reasonably known the person was a minor based on their physical appearance, level of reasoning, and understanding of the subject matter you presented to them.
In court, the prosecutor will present any relevant evidence to show that you know the minor was below eighteen years. For example, if you had information linked to their identity, like their birth certificate, the prosecutor can build their case by showing that you should have known about their age.
Similarly, your proximity to the minor through family relations or other means should have made you reasonably knowledgeable about the minor’s age. In that case, the prosecutor can also rely on this information to prove their case.
The prosecution team should provide sufficient evidence for each crime element and prove it beyond a reasonable doubt before the judge can find you guilty of the crime.
Defenses Against Contacting a Minor to Commit a Felony
After the prosecution team closes its case, your criminal defense attorney presents defense arguments to counter the accusations. Doing so is crucial to your case, as they can cast reasonable doubt on the prosecutor’s case and reduce your chances of conviction.
Nevertheless, the case presentation should be credible and backed by evidence to ensure you raise reasonable doubt on the prosecutor’s case. Therefore, your criminal defense lawyer will work towards finding credible evidence to support your case. You can support their efforts by providing any relevant information that will strengthen the defense case as required.
The following are defenses available to refute contacting a minor to commit a felony:
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You were unaware that the person you contacted was a minor
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You did not intend to commit a felony with the minor
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Your case involves a mistake of fact or identity
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Your case involved entrapment
Notably, not all defenses apply to your case simultaneously. Your criminal defense attorney will guide you on the best arguments to raise, depending on the case circumstances. Therefore, you want to understand how to navigate the defense arguments best.
Penalties for Contacting a Minor to Commit a Felony
If the prosecutor’s case succeeds over your defenses, you will be guilty of the crime. Consequently, you will face penalties for the offense, which is often classified as a felony in California. The following are penalties that the judge may issue as a sentence:
A State Prison Sentence
Firstly, the judge may issue a state prison sentence for varying years depending on the felony you intend to commit with the minor. Examples of different sentences include:
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Contacting a Minor To Commit Forced Sodomy on Them
If your charge involved an intention to commit forced sodomy, you would face seven to thirteen years in state prison.
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Contacting the Minor to Commit Lewd Acts With Them
Intending to commit lewd acts against a minor attracts three, six, or eight years in state prison.
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Contacting a Minor to Engage Them in Oral Sex
Additionally, if you intend to engage in oral sex, your sentence may last between sixteen months and eight years in state prison.
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Repeat Offenders’ Sentence Enhancement
As a repeat offender, you are answerable to harsher penalties than a first-time offender. Therefore, you will receive five years of extra confinement on top of the sentence the judge issues against you.
Formal Probation Orders
Apart from confinement in prison, the judge can issue a formal probation order. If so, you will have to report to a probation officer about your continuous progress during the probation until the probation period concludes. Noteworthy, you should avoid engaging in other criminal activities during this period or risk facing a prison sentence.
Fine Payment Orders
Further, the judge can also order you to pay a fine of up to $10,000 on top of the probation or prison sentence.
Mandatory Sex Offender Registration
A conviction for contacting a minor to commit a felony requires you to register as a sex offender and renew your registration every year around your birthday. The registration tiers also vary depending on the severity of your crime. The durations are as follows:
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Tier one registration lasts for ten years.
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Tier two registration-lasts for twenty years.
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Tier three registration lasts for thirty years.
Contact a Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me
When you or a loved one faces charges related to contacting a minor to commit a felony, you want to act fast and prepare your defenses. Thus, retaining a criminal defense attorney to look into your case is highly advisable. By including them in the matter, they can assess the accusations and determine the best approaches to use in preparing defenses. Additionally, having a legal team to handle the case relieves you of the pressure you would otherwise take on as you try to establish the best approach toward building defenses.
At Los Angeles Criminal Lawyer, you will work with a skilled and experienced team ready to handle your case sufficiently. Our role is to help you find the best strategies to apply to your case as defenses for the accusations before you. Moreover, we will provide legal assistance unique to your case to ensure you receive beneficial services. For more information on how to defend contacting a minor to commit a felony charge, call us today at 310-502-1314.
