Sec311 of the California Penal Code defines the rape as the crime committed when one person undertakes the use of force or threats to accomplish oral copulation with another person.
This is considered as a serious offense and for the first offense, to which the mandatory penalty is incarceration in a state prison facility for a maximum of eight (8) years. If the accused committed the same crime or had committed other sex crimes previously, under the California Three Strikes Law, the imposable jail time could be life imprisonment.
Under existing procedural rules, the following are the elements of the crime of oral copulation by force:
• The defendant committed the act of oral copulation with another person;
• The other person did not consent to the act of oral copulation;
• The act was committed through the use of force, violence, duress, menace or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury, future threats of bodily harm and/or threats of official action.
The act need not be fully consummated as it is completed by the slightest contact between the mouth of the victim and the sexual organ or anus of the accused. What is key is the absence of consent, which is defined as free and voluntarily agreement to the act with full knowledge of the nature of the act.
The crime of oral copulation by force is a serious offense in California. Should you be or know anyone facing any of these charges, do reach out to the lawyers at the Law Offices of Ramiro J. Lluis for a free consultation today.
