California Penal Code 288a was the state’s oral copulation statute until 2018, when the legislature renumbered it to Penal Code Section 287 through Senate Bill 1494. The move changed the section number only; the conduct the law prohibits and the penalties it carries stayed the same. If you are researching a charge, a conviction, or a case file that references 288a, the current controlling statute is Section 287, and sentences run from one year in county jail to twelve years in state prison depending on the facts.
What the Law Actually Covers
Section 287 defines oral copulation as contact between one person’s mouth and another person’s sexual organ or anus.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 287 Penetration is not required. Contact alone meets the definition.
The contact itself is not the crime. Prosecutors have to prove the act happened under one of the circumstances the statute criminalizes: lack of consent, use of force or threats, the other person’s incapacity, or involvement of a minor. Without one of those circumstances, there is no Section 287 case.
When Consent Is Legally Impossible
California defines consent in sexual offense cases as freely and voluntarily cooperating with knowledge of what is happening.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 261.6 A current or prior dating relationship, or marriage, does not establish consent on its own. Section 287 charges can be filed against a spouse or partner.
Some people cannot give valid consent at all. Minors under 18 cannot consent to oral copulation with an adult. Someone unconscious, asleep, or too intoxicated to understand what is happening cannot consent. Neither can a person whose mental or physical disability prevents meaningful agreement. In each situation, willingness is beside the point because the law treats consent as impossible.
The statute also reaches inside custodial settings. Anyone confined in a state prison or local detention facility who participates in oral copulation faces up to one year in county jail or a state prison term, even when both parties were willing.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 287
Prison Time by Scenario
Section 287 contains more than a dozen penalty provisions. The sentence depends on the other person’s age, whether force was involved, whether the defendant acted alone, and whether the other person was incapacitated.
Minor, No Force
When no force is used and the other person is under 18, the offense is a wobbler. Prosecutors can file it as a misdemeanor, with up to one year in county jail, or as a felony, with a state prison sentence.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 287 If the defendant is over 21 and the minor is under 16, it must be filed as a straight felony. When the minor is under 14 and the defendant is at least 10 years older, the prison term is three, six, or eight years.
Force or Threats
Oral copulation accomplished through force, violence, intimidation, or fear of immediate bodily harm against an adult carries three, six, or eight years in state prison.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 287 When force is used against a minor, the range climbs:
- Victim 14 or older: six, eight, or ten years in state prison.
- Victim under 14: eight, ten, or twelve years in state prison.
If the method was a threat of future retaliation and there was a reasonable chance the defendant would carry it out, the sentence is three, six, or eight years.
Incapacitated Victims
When the other person is unconscious or unaware of the nature of the act and the defendant knows it, the prison term is three, six, or eight years.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 287 – Oral Copulation The same range applies when the person was incapacitated by alcohol, drugs, or an anesthetic and the defendant knew or should have known.
Acting With Someone Else
When two or more people participate in forced oral copulation, whether by personally committing the act or helping the other person do it, the penalty rises to five, seven, or nine years in state prison.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 287 That range applies when the act was accomplished through force, threats of future retaliation, or against a person with a mental or physical disability.
Fines
Every conviction carries a restitution fine on top of the prison or jail sentence. For a misdemeanor the range is $150 to $1,000, and for a felony it is $300 to $10,000, set by the judge based on the seriousness of the offense.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 1202.4 Direct restitution to the victim for losses such as counseling can be ordered separately.
Why This Is a Strike
Forced oral copulation under subdivisions (c) or (d) of Section 287 counts as a violent felony under California’s Three Strikes Law.5California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 667.5 A strike doubles the prison sentence for any future felony conviction and limits early-release credits. A third strike can mean 25 years to life. The strike designation also closes off most diversion options and narrows plea bargaining in the current case.
Sex Offender Registration
A conviction under Section 287 triggers mandatory sex offender registration under Penal Code Section 290.6California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 290 (2025) You register with the police chief in the city where you live, or with the county sheriff in unincorporated areas. California uses three tiers:
- Tier 1: minimum 10 years on the registry.
- Tier 2: minimum 20 years on the registry.
- Tier 3: lifetime registration.
Felony convictions involving force or minors generally fall in Tier 2 or Tier 3. After initial registration you have to return each year within five working days of your birthday to update your information, and you have five working days after any move to register the new address.6California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 290 (2025)
Failing to register is a separate crime. If the underlying conviction was a misdemeanor, failure to register is a misdemeanor with up to one year in county jail. If the underlying conviction was a felony, failure to register is a felony punishable by 16 months, two years, or three years in state prison, and the judge must impose at least 90 days in county jail even when probation is granted.7California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 290.018
What Shows Up on Megan’s Law
California publishes registered offender information on the Megan’s Law website, with the detail level tied to the tier. Tier 3 listings include name, aliases, photograph, physical description, date of birth, criminal history, and full residential address.8California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 290.46 Tier 2 listings show the community of residence and ZIP code but not the street address. The victim’s identifying information, the registrant’s employer information, unrelated criminal history, and juvenile adjudications are kept off the public site.
Life After the Sentence
The practical consequences of a Section 287 conviction reach well past the prison term. Professional licensing boards in teaching, nursing, social work, and law apply character-fitness standards that almost always disqualify someone with a sex offense conviction. Employers in education, healthcare, and any role involving children or vulnerable adults routinely reject applicants on the registry.
Housing narrows as well. Many California jurisdictions bar registered offenders from living within a set distance of schools, parks, and daycare centers. Private landlords often refuse to rent, and public housing authorities can deny applications on the basis of the conviction. Family courts may limit or supervise contact with your own children depending on the facts. Voting rights are suspended during a felony sentence in California and restored once the sentence, including parole or probation, is complete.
Immigration and Travel Consequences
For non-citizens, Section 287 convictions can be as serious as the prison term. Federal immigration law treats sexual abuse of a minor as an aggravated felony, which makes the person deportable and permanently bars a finding of good moral character for naturalization.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S. Code 1101 – Definitions Even misdemeanor sex offenses can be classified as crimes involving moral turpitude, creating separate grounds for removal. An aggravated felony conviction cuts off most immigration relief, including green card applications, asylum, and re-entry after travel abroad. Mandatory detention during removal proceedings is common.
Anyone required to register must notify their registration jurisdiction at least 21 days before international travel under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, including destination countries, departure and return dates, flight details, and lodging where available.10Office of Justice Programs. SORNA – Information Required for Notice of International Travel Local authorities pass the information to the U.S. Marshals Service, which notifies foreign governments. There is no emergency exception. Under International Megan’s Law, the State Department places a unique visual identifier in the passports of covered sex offenders, which flags you at foreign border controls for as long as registration is required.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 212b – Unique Passport Identifiers for Covered Sex Offenders
Defenses That Actually Apply
Which defenses are available depends entirely on how the charge is framed. The most direct is consent: when the prosecution relies on force or coercion rather than the other person’s age, showing the encounter was freely entered into can defeat the case. These fights usually come down to credibility, because physical evidence rarely resolves consent one way or the other.
False allegations are a real defense where the accuser has a motive unrelated to the alleged incident, such as a custody fight or a bitter breakup. Defense counsel look for inconsistencies, prior false claims, and signs of ulterior motive. Mistaken identity applies when the defendant was not present at all and can show it through alibi, surveillance, or problems with eyewitness reliability. An insufficient-evidence defense simply holds the prosecution to its burden and points to the gaps.
One boundary matters here. None of these defenses works when the charge rests solely on the other person’s age. A 15-year-old cannot consent to oral copulation with an adult, so arguing the minor was willing is not a defense to that charge.