Sexting. What seems like youthful indiscretions can carry a lifetime of criminal consequences that can ruin a person’s future. Sexting is prosecuted under Penal Code section 288.2. It can also be prosecuted under a number of federal anti-child pornography statutes.
Many people under estimate just how serious a violation of Penal Code section 288.2 can be. In addition to time in county jail or time in prison people convicted of sexting can be forced to register as a sex offender. Violations of the state and federal laws banning child pornography carry requirements that those convicted under these laws register as sex offenders. In California the requirement to register as a sex offender is a life-time requirement that is next to impossible to get free of. A 19-year old, legally an adult, required to register as a sex offender for texting pictures of an ex-girlfriend would be required to register for the rest of his life. Generally minors ordered to register as sex offenders by California juvenile courts can later attempt to seal their records. In some situations minors can be prosecuted as adults. In such cases, those minors have to register for life and cannot later seal their records.
Anyone, including a minor, required to register pursuant to Penal Code section 290 is subject to California’s residency restrictions as set forth in Penal Code section 3003.5. Registrants, regardless of the facts of their underlying crime, cannot live within 2,000 feet of a school or a park. If a family owns a home within 2,000 feet of a school or a park and one of their children is required to register as a sex offender, either the minor can’t live with their family or the family has to move.
If you or someone you know is facing allegations involving Penal Code section 288.2 you need to contact experienced criminal defense counsel. Sacramento criminal defense lawyer Kresta Daly has successfully defended countless sex crimes including allegations violations of Penal Code section 288.2
Call Sacramento Criminal Defense Lawyer Kresta Daly (916) 440-8600
