If you have been arrested for the crime of Sexual Battery, contact experienced criminal defense lawyer Max Gorby at (323) 477-2819.

• California Penal Code Section 243.4 (e) (1) — Sexual Battery

California Penal Code Section 243.4 (e) (1) defines misdemeanor sexual battery as the non-consensual touching of the intimate part of another for (1) sexual arousal, (2) sexual gratification, or (3) sexual abuse.

Elements of the crime of sexual battery: (1) That you touched the intimate part of another,  (2) That the touching was (a) Against the will of the other person, or  (b) That consent was fraudulently obtained, and (3) That you touched the other person to specifically cause sexual arousal, sexual gratification, or sexual abuse.

Felony sexual battery in California, under Penal Code 243.4, is an act committed for the same sexual purposes as described above and is the non-consensual touching of the intimate part of:

• (a) Someone who was unconscious as to the nature of the act because he/she was fraudulently convinced that the touching was for professional purposes,   (b) Someone who was unlawfully restrained, (c) Someone who was institutionalizedand either medically incapacitated or seriously disabled, or   (d) Someone falling under “b” or “c” above who was forced to masturbate oneself or touch the intimate part of another
• This crime is a wobbler meaning it can be charged as either a felony or a misdemeanor depending on the set of facts.

Definition of a Wobbler – California Penal Code 17 PC — Classification of offenses. (“(b) When a crime is punishable, in the discretion of the court, by imprisonment in the state prison or by fine or imprisonment in the county jail [which is, by definition, a wobbler], it is a misdemeanor for all purposes under the following circumstances: (1) After a judgment imposing a punishment other than imprisonment in the state prison. (2) When the court, upon committing the defendant to the Youth Authority, designates the offense to be a misdemeanor. (3) When the court grants probation to a defendant without imposition of sentence and at the time of granting probation, or on application of the defendant or probation officer thereafter, the court declares the offense to be a misdemeanor. (4) When the prosecuting attorney files in a court having jurisdiction over misdemeanor offenses a complaint specifying that the offense is a misdemeanor, unless the defendant at the time of his or her arraignment or plea objects to the offense being made a misdemeanor, in which event the complaint shall be amended to charge the felony and the case shall proceed on the felony complaint. (5) When, at or before the preliminary examination or prior to filing an order pursuant to Section 872, the magistrate determines that the offense is a misdemeanor, in which event the case shall proceed as if the defendant had been arraigned on a misdemeanor complaint.”

Please contact Attorney Max Gorby at (323) 477-2819 regarding any questions related to California Penal Code section 243.4 PC  – Sexual Battery.