Juvenile Court Penal Code section 288.2

[twkgroup]

My son is a minor and has received papers stating a violation of penal code section 288.2 stating that he had sexual encounters with another minor. What is the best defense when these are two minors?

 

[mightymoose]

It does not matter that the sender and the recipient are both minors.
The best defense is for his attorney to determine, but a denial is the best place to start.

I'm assuming this is a case in which pictures or video were sent via cell phone. If so, all the evidence to prove the case is just one search warrant away. The information can be retrieved through the phone company even if it has been deleted from the phone itself.... and in some cases data can be retrieved from a phone even after the user has deleted it.

 

[bluemann33]

Mighty says it all, get your attorney and discuss the best defense with him/her. Your attorney will know all the little details in the case which should allow him/her to defend the client the best. Good luck.

 

[CdwJava]

My son is a minor and has received papers stating a violation of penal code section 288.2 stating that he had sexual encounters with another minor. What is the best defense when these are two minors?

Here is the section:

288.2. (a) Every person who, with knowledge that a person is a
minor, or who fails to exercise reasonable care in ascertaining the
true age of a minor, knowingly distributes, sends, causes to be sent,
exhibits, or offers to distribute or exhibit by any means,
including, but not limited to, live or recorded telephone messages,
any harmful matter, as defined in Section 313, to a minor with the
intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust or passions
or sexual desires of that person or of a minor, and with the intent
or for the purpose of seducing a minor, is guilty of a public offense
and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison or in a
county jail.
A person convicted of a second and any subsequent conviction for a
violation of this section is guilty of a felony.
(b) Every person who, with knowledge that a person is a minor,
knowingly distributes, sends, causes to be sent, exhibits, or offers
to distribute or exhibit by electronic mail, the Internet, as defined
in Section 17538 of the Business and Professions Code, or a
commercial online service, any harmful matter, as defined in Section
313, to a minor with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or
gratifying the lust or passions or sexual desires of that person or
of a minor, and with the intent, or for the purpose of seducing a
minor, is guilty of a public offense and shall be punished by
imprisonment in the state prison or in a county jail.
A person convicted of a second and any subsequent conviction for a
violation of this section is guilty of a felony.
(c) It shall be a defense to any prosecution under this section
that a parent or guardian committed the act charged in aid of
legitimate sex education.
(d) It shall be a defense in any prosecution under this section
that the act charged was committed in aid of legitimate scientific or
educational purposes.
(e) It does not constitute a violation of this section for a
telephone corporation, as defined in Section 234 of the Public
Utilities Code, a cable television company franchised pursuant to
Section 53066 of the Government Code, or any of its affiliates, an
Internet service provider, or commercial online service provider, to
carry, broadcast, or transmit messages described in this section or
perform related activities in providing telephone, cable television,
Internet, or commercial online services.​

It should also be noted that there is no legal confidentiality between child and parent. So, while it is unlikely a prosecutor might call a parent to testify against their child, it would benefit him and you for him not to discuss the details of this matter with you.

There are potential defenses to this, but they might be fact specific and only his attorney might know if the defense arguments can be made or not.

If you have not engaged an attorney on his behalf, do so immediately and before he considers speaking to the authorities. If you cannot afford an attorney, one can be appointed for him by the court.