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Oral copulation refers to the act of touching the mouth of one person with another person’s sexual organ or anus. The definitions of oral and copulation are: “oral" meaning of, relating to, or belonging to the mouth, and " copulation " meaning the act of coupling or joining sexual union.
Any contact, however slight, constitutes oral copulation. It is irrelevant if there is any actual penetration. The California Penal Code Section 288 defines oral copulation.
The California criminal jury instructions lay out the elements required to be convicted of this offense. CALJIC 10.10 says in part:
In order to prove [oral copulation], each of the following elements must be proved:
- A person participated in an act of oral copulation with an alleged victim [and]
- The act was accomplished against the alleged victim’s will by means of force, violence, duress, menace or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the alleged victim or any other person.
Or
2a. The act was accomplished against the victim’s will by threatening to retaliate in the future against the alleged victim or any other person and
2b. There was a reasonable possibility that the perpetrator would execute the threat.
- This incapacity of the alleged victim was known or reasonably should have been known to the other person.
The definition of committing oral copulation “against a person’s will" means that the sexual act was achieved by the use of force or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim. It can also be interpreted to mean that the victim is “forced" because of a threat of future retaliation against the victim or someone else.
The punishment for an act of oral copulation, defined as being against the victim’s will, is imprisonment in the state prison for a period of 3, 6, or 8 years. The court may also issue a fine up to $10,000. Such a financial penalty is decided by the judge who considers the seriousness and gravity of the offense and whether the victim suffered any economic losses as a result of the crime.
By law, persons convicted of a sex crime, which oral copulation is included, are required to register as sex offenders with a local law enforcement agency. Prior to release from prison, jail, a mental hospital, or on probation, sex offenders are notified in writing of their duty to register, and a copy of the notification form is forwarded to Department of Justice (DOJ). When a sex offender is released into the community, the agency forwards the registration information to DOJ.
Registered sex offenders are required to update their information annually, within five working days of their birthday. Some sex offenders must update more often: transients must update every 30 days, and sexually violent predators, every 90 days. The Sex Offender Tracking Program keeps track of the next required update, and if a registered sex offender is in violation of the update requirements, the Internet web site will show the registrant as being in violation.
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