California Penal Code 368: Elder Abuse Offenses and Penalties

California Penal Code 368 makes it a crime to physically abuse, neglect, endanger, or financially exploit an elder or dependent adult, with penalties that run from a misdemeanor fine up to roughly 11 years in state prison when the victim dies. The statute is tiered: how a case is charged depends on who the victim is, who the defendant is, and whether the conduct was likely to cause great bodily harm or death.

Who the Statute Protects

PC 368 covers two groups. An “elder” is any California resident 65 or older. A “dependent adult” is a person between 18 and 64 whose physical or mental limitations restrict their ability to carry out normal activities or protect their own rights, a category that captures people with cognitive impairments, physical disabilities, or chronic conditions that leave them reliant on others. Patients admitted to 24-hour health facilities are also protected.¹

The defendant must know, or reasonably should know, that the victim falls into one of these categories. That knowledge requirement runs through every subsection.

Conduct the Statute Criminalizes

Physical Abuse and Endangerment

Under PC 368(b)(1), it is a crime to willfully cause or allow an elder or dependent adult to suffer unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering when the circumstances are likely to produce great bodily harm or death. “Willfully” means the person acted on purpose, though they didn’t have to intend the specific harm that resulted. The same subsection reaches caregivers who deliberately allow someone in their care to be injured or put in a dangerous situation.¹

The word “unjustifiable” does real work. Pain that results from necessary medical treatment or reasonable caregiving isn’t criminal. Pain or suffering that goes beyond what the circumstances require can be.²

For civil and reporting purposes, the Welfare and Institutions Code supplies a broader definition that includes assault, battery, sexual assault, unreasonable physical restraint, prolonged deprivation of food or water, and misuse of chemical restraints or psychotropic medication for punishment or without physician authorization.³

Neglect

PC 368 has no separate neglect subsection. Neglect is prosecuted under the same provisions that prohibit “permitting” an elder or dependent adult to suffer or be placed in danger. A caregiver who withholds food, water, medical care, hygiene assistance, or shelter can be charged under 368(b) or 368(c) depending on how dangerous the conditions were.¹ Neglect cases usually require proof that the caregiver had a duty to provide care and deliberately failed to do so, while physical abuse cases focus on affirmative acts.

Financial Exploitation

Subsections (d) and (e) target financial crimes against elders and dependent adults, covering theft, embezzlement, forgery, fraud, and identity theft involving a protected person’s property or personal information.⁴ Section 368(d) applies to anyone, including family members, friends, and strangers. Section 368(e) covers caretakers specifically and carries enhanced exposure because of the trust inherent in the role.

Penalties by Subsection

The penalty structure depends on which subsection applies and how dangerous the circumstances were. Most of the subsections are “wobblers,” meaning prosecutors can file them as either a misdemeanor or a felony.

PC 368(b)(1) — Likely to Produce Great Bodily Harm or Death

When the abuse occurred under circumstances likely to cause serious injury or death:

As a misdemeanor: up to one year in county jail, a fine up to $6,000, or both.
As a felony: two, three, or four years in state prison.

The charging decision generally turns on the severity of the victim’s injuries, the defendant’s criminal history, and how egregious the conduct was.¹

PC 368(c) — Not Likely to Produce Great Bodily Harm or Death

When the circumstances don’t rise to that level, the charge is a straight misdemeanor. A second or subsequent conviction carries up to one year in county jail, a fine up to $2,000, or both.¹

Financial Exploitation Under 368(d) and (e)

Financial crimes against elders and dependent adults are also wobblers. A felony conviction can carry fines up to $10,000 on top of prison time and court-ordered restitution.⁴

Sentence Enhancements for Serious Injury or Death

When a felony conviction under 368(b)(1) involves great bodily injury or death, the prison term grows substantially. The enhancements are consecutive terms added on top of the base sentence, and they increase when the victim is 70 or older:

Great bodily injury, victim under 70: three additional years.
Great bodily injury, victim 70 or older: five additional years.
Death of victim under 70: five additional years.
Death of victim 70 or older: seven additional years.

Stacked on the base term of two to four years, a conviction involving the death of a victim aged 70 or older can reach 11 years in state prison before any other charges or enhancements come into play.¹

Restitution to the Victim

California requires full restitution in every criminal case involving economic loss. Under Penal Code 1202.4, a judge must order the defendant to reimburse the victim for all determined losses, including the replacement cost of stolen or damaged property, medical and mental health expenses, lost wages calculated from the 12 months before the crime, and interest at 10 percent per year from the date of sentencing or loss. Restitution orders are enforceable as civil judgments.⁵ In financial exploitation cases, that typically means repaying the full value of stolen money or property on top of any criminal fine.

Mandatory Reporting and the Separate Crime of Not Reporting

Elder abuse law doesn’t rely on voluntary reporting alone. Welfare and Institutions Code 15630 designates mandated reporters: anyone who has assumed full or part-time responsibility for the care or custody of an elder or dependent adult, paid or unpaid, plus administrators and licensed staff of care facilities, health practitioners, clergy members, and employees of Adult Protective Services or law enforcement.⁶ Officers and employees of financial institutions carry parallel obligations for suspected financial abuse under WIC 15630.1, and broker-dealers and investment advisers are covered under WIC 15630.2.

Failing to report is itself a crime. A mandated reporter who doesn’t file a required report, or who interferes with another person’s report, commits a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in county jail, a fine up to $1,000, or both. If the unreported abuse results in great bodily injury or death, the penalty rises to up to one year in jail and a fine up to $5,000. A mandated reporter who intentionally conceals the failure to report commits a continuing offense: the statute of limitations doesn’t start until law enforcement discovers the concealment.⁶

Anyone, mandated or not, can call local law enforcement or county Adult Protective Services to report suspected abuse. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.

Civil and Protective Remedies Run Alongside

Criminal prosecution under 368 doesn’t foreclose other remedies, and victims (or those acting for them) often pursue both tracks at once. Protective orders are available under WIC 15657.03 and can require an abuser to stay away, move out of a shared residence, surrender firearms, and stop financial exploitation or isolation.⁷

Civil liability is governed by the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act. Under WIC 15657, a plaintiff who proves by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant committed physical abuse, neglect, or abandonment with recklessness, oppression, fraud, or malice gains access to enhanced remedies: mandatory attorney’s fees and costs, and relief from the usual limits on survivorship damages. Employers can be held liable for employees’ conduct where the standard for punitive damages under Civil Code 3294 is met.⁸

Common Defenses

The elements of PC 368 shape what a defense looks like. Common arguments include:

Lack of willfulness. An accident or unavoidable outcome isn’t criminal under 368 even if an elder was harmed. This often arises in neglect cases where the caregiver argues they did their best with the resources available.
No knowledge of the victim’s status. Both 368(b) and (c) require that the defendant knew or reasonably should have known the victim was an elder or dependent adult.
Justifiable conduct. CALCRIM No. 830 defines “unjustifiable” pain as pain that is not reasonably necessary or is excessive under the circumstances; pain within those limits isn’t criminal.²
False accusation. In family disputes involving inheritance or caregiving disagreements, allegations sometimes surface as a tactical weapon. The defense focuses on the accuser’s credibility and motive.

Statute of Limitations

Felony charges under PC 368 generally must be filed within five years of the offense. Misdemeanors carry a one-year filing deadline. Financial exploitation cases can run longer under California’s delayed discovery rules, because victims often don’t learn of the theft or fraud for months or years. The practical consequence is that reports made soon after suspected abuse give investigators the best chance to gather evidence and keep the timing issue from closing the window.

1
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 368 (2025)
2
Justia. CALCRIM No. 830 – Abuse of Elder or Dependent Adult Likely to Produce Great Bodily Harm or Death
3
California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 15610.63
4
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 368
5
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1202.4
6
California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 15630
7
California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 15657.03
8
California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 15657 (2025)