California statutory rape penalties are set by Penal Code 261.5 and scale with the age gap between the two people involved. The least serious cases are misdemeanors carrying up to a year in county jail and a $1,000 fine. The most serious — an adult 21 or older with a minor under 16 — can bring two, three, or four years in state prison. Civil fines of up to $25,000 can be added on top, and for offenses committed on or after January 1, 2026, a felony conviction can also require sex offender registration.
Criminal Penalties by Age Gap
Penal Code 261.5 defines “unlawful sexual intercourse” as intercourse with someone under 18 who is not the defendant’s spouse.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 261.5 – Unlawful Sexual Intercourse Consent is not a defense, and the statute applies regardless of gender. The sentencing exposure splits into three tiers.
Three Years or Less Apart
If the two people are within three years of each other in age, in either direction, the offense is always a misdemeanor. A conviction can bring up to one year in county jail, a fine up to $1,000, or both.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 261.5 – Unlawful Sexual Intercourse This tier covers most high school relationships. Prosecutors rarely charge these cases, but the law technically reaches them.
More Than Three Years Apart
When the older person is more than three years older than the minor, the charge becomes a wobbler. The prosecutor can file it as either a misdemeanor or a felony. As a misdemeanor, the maximum remains one year in county jail. As a felony, the sentence is served in county jail under California’s realignment rules, with the term set by the court.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 261.5 – Unlawful Sexual Intercourse Charging decisions turn on factors like the defendant’s criminal history, the circumstances of the relationship, and how young the minor is.
21 or Older With a Minor Under 16
The toughest tier applies when someone 21 or older has intercourse with a minor under 16. This is also a wobbler, but the felony sentencing range jumps to two, three, or four years in state prison.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 261.5 – Unlawful Sexual Intercourse The court chooses from that triad based on aggravating and mitigating factors. A prior record or evidence of a pattern of targeting minors pushes the sentence toward the four-year maximum.
One note on scope. California has no “Romeo and Juliet” exemption, so two 17-year-olds who have intercourse are both technically violating the statute, though those cases are rarely pursued. The only true carve-out is marriage: Penal Code 261.5 does not apply when the two people are legally married to each other.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 261.5 – Unlawful Sexual Intercourse
Civil Fines
In addition to jail or prison, Penal Code 261.5 authorizes the district attorney to seek civil fines against any adult convicted under the statute. These are separate from criminal fines and scale with the age difference:
- Less than two years older: up to $2,000
- At least two years older: up to $5,000
- At least three years older: up to $10,000
- 21 or older with a minor under 16: up to $25,000
Money collected goes to California’s Underage Pregnancy Prevention Fund after the county recovers its costs of pursuing the case.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 261.5 – Unlawful Sexual Intercourse The court may also add a fine of up to $70 per violation, which can accumulate when multiple acts are charged.
Sex Offender Registration After the 2026 Change
A major change took effect on January 1, 2026. Convictions under subdivisions (c) or (d) of Penal Code 261.5 now trigger mandatory sex offender registration under Penal Code 290, provided the offense occurred on or after that date.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 290 Before 2026, a standalone statutory rape conviction did not require registration. That is no longer the case for the felony-eligible tiers.
There is a key exception. Registration is not required if the convicted person is no more than 10 years older than the minor and has no other conviction that independently requires it.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 290 A 22-year-old convicted under 261.5(c) for intercourse with a 17-year-old, for example, would fall within that exception. Misdemeanor-only convictions under 261.5(b), the within-three-years tier, do not require registration at all. California’s registry, created by SB 384, places registrants on 10-year, 20-year, or lifetime terms depending on the offense and circumstances.
Immigration Consequences for Noncitizens
For a noncitizen, a felony conviction under Penal Code 261.5 can be worse than the criminal sentence itself. Federal immigration law classifies “sexual abuse of a minor” as an aggravated felony,3Legal Information Institute. 8 USC 1101(a)(43) – Aggravated Felony and a felony statutory rape conviction can fall within that classification.
Anyone convicted of an aggravated felony on or after November 29, 1990, is permanently barred from establishing the “good moral character” required for naturalization.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Permanent Bars to Good Moral Character That bar never expires. The conviction also makes a noncitizen deportable and largely eliminates eligibility for discretionary relief such as cancellation of removal or asylum. Lawful permanent residents who have lived in the United States for decades can face mandatory removal after this kind of conviction.
Other Collateral Consequences
A conviction under Penal Code 261.5 reaches into areas that have nothing to do with the courtroom. If registration applies, the registrant faces residency restrictions, employment limitations, and public listing on the Megan’s Law database. Professional licensing boards for teachers, nurses, social workers, and other fields involving contact with minors routinely deny or revoke licenses on the basis of sex offense convictions.
Restitution to the victim is mandatory on conviction in California and can include therapy costs, medical expenses, and other financial losses tied to the offense. The amount is set at sentencing, becomes a legally enforceable debt, and cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. Federal student aid is more forgiving: an incarcerated person has limited eligibility, but someone on probation or parole remains eligible for Pell Grants and other federal aid once the incarceration-related restrictions end.5Federal Student Aid. Eligibility for Students With Criminal Convictions
When the Mistake-of-Age Defense Can Limit Penalties
California does allow a mistake-of-age defense to a Penal Code 261.5 charge. The California Supreme Court recognized the defense in 1964, holding that a genuine, reasonable belief the other person was 18 or older can defeat the charge.6Justia Law. People v. Olsen (1984) Once the defense is raised, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not actually and reasonably believe the other person was at least 18.
Winning on this defense is hard. Courts weigh the totality of the circumstances: where the defendant met the minor, what the minor said about their age, whether the minor had a fake ID, the setting of the encounter, and the minor’s physical appearance. Meeting someone at a bar that checks IDs carries more weight than meeting them at a high school party. The defense also applies only to Penal Code 261.5. Other sex offenses involving minors under 14, such as lewd acts under Penal Code 288, are strict liability crimes where the defendant’s belief about the victim’s age is legally irrelevant.