Oral copulation legal definition, charges and punishments

Oral copulation is a sexual act which becomes a serious sex crime when committed with a person who is incapable of giving consent or done against the person’s will.

Since oral sex has become a form one of the main forms of sexual activity, oral copulation laws are necessary to define sex crimes involving the mouth since existing laws such as sexual battery law only address those involving the vagina and anus.

In this article, we take a look at the definition of copulation, what constitutes oral copulation according to law and the punishment for sex crimes involving the mouth.

Copulation meaning

Copulation in its strictest definition refers to sexual intercourse involving the sex organs with the purpose of introducing the male sperms into the vagina of the female for procreation. More recently, the term is used liberally to describe all the forms of sexual activity that exist today.

Oral copulation

According to the California Penal code 287, oral copulation is the act of copulating the mouth of one person with the sexual organ or anus of another person. The act itself is not a crime when it occurs between two capable and consenting adults.

The criminality aspect kicks in when the act is performed on a person who is legally or physically incapable of giving consent, by force or under threat.

Oral Copulation sex crime is defined by the California Penal code as follows:

Oral copulation with a minor

(1) Any person who participates in an act of oral copulation with another person who is under 18 years of age shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison, or in a county jail for a period of not more than one year.

(2) Any person over 21 years of age who participates in an act of oral copulation with another person who is under 16 years of age is guilty of a felony.

(3) Any person who participates in an act of oral copulation with another person who is under 14 years of age and more than 10 years younger than he or she shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight years.

(4) Any person who commits an act of oral copulation upon a person who is under 14 years of age, when the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 8, 10, or 12 years.

(5) Any person who commits an act of oral copulation upon a minor who is 14 years of age or older, when the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 6, 8, or 10 years.

Oral copulation under force or threat

(1) Any person who commits an act of oral copulation when the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight years.

(2) Any person who commits an act of oral copulation where the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by threatening to retaliate in the future against the victim or any other person, and there is a reasonable possibility that the perpetrator will execute the threat, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight years.

(3) Any person who, while voluntarily acting in concert with another person, either personally or by aiding and abetting that other person, commits an act of oral copulation

• (A) when the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by means of force or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person, or
• (B) where the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by threatening to retaliate in the future against the victim or any other person, and there is a reasonable possibility that the perpetrator will execute the threat, or
• (C) where the victim is at the time incapable, because of a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability, of giving legal consent, and this is known or reasonably should be known to the person committing the act, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for five, seven, or nine years. (The prosecuting attorney shall prove, as an element of the crime that a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability rendered the alleged victim incapable of giving legal consent.)

(4) Any person who, while voluntarily acting in concert with another person, either personally or aiding and abetting that other person, commits an act of oral copulation upon a victim who is under 14 years of age, when the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by means of force or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 10, 12, or 14 years.

(5) Any person who, while voluntarily acting in concert with another person, either personally or aiding and abetting that other person, commits an act of oral copulation upon a victim who is a minor 14 years of age or older, when the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by means of force or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 8, 10, or 12 years.

Oral copulation while in custody

Any person who participates in an act of oral copulation while confined in any state prison, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison, or in a county jail for a period of not more than one year.

Oral copulation with victim who is incapable of resisting

(1) Any person who commits an act of oral copulation, and the victim is at the time unconscious of the nature of the act and this is known to the person committing the act, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a period of three, six, or eight years.

As used in this subdivision, “unconscious of the nature of the act” means incapable of resisting because the victim meets one of the following conditions:

1. Was unconscious or asleep.
2. Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant that the act occurred.
3. Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant of the essential characteristics of the act due to the perpetrator’s fraud in fact.
4. Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant of the essential characteristics of the act due to the perpetrator’s fraudulent representation that the oral copulation served a professional purpose when it served no professional purpose.

Oral copulation in a mental hospital

Any person who commits an act of oral copulation, and the victim is at the time incapable, because of a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability, of giving legal consent, and this is known or reasonably should be known to the person committing the act, and both the defendant and the victim are at the time confined in a state hospital for the care and treatment of the mentally disordered or in any other public or private facility for the care and treatment of the mentally disordered approved by a county mental health director, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison, or in a county jail for a period of not more than one year.

The prosecuting attorney shall prove, as an element of the crime, that a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability rendered the alleged victim incapable of giving legal consent.

Oral copulation by intoxication

Any person who commits an act of oral copulation, where the victim is prevented from resisting by any intoxicating or anesthetic substance, or any controlled substance, and this condition was known, or reasonably should have been known by the accused, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a period of three, six, or eight years.

by false presentation

Any person who commits an act of oral copulation, where the victim submits under the belief that the person committing the act is someone known to the victim other than the accused, and this belief is induced by any artifice, pretense, or concealment practiced by the accused, with intent to induce the belief, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a period of three, six, or eight years.

Oral copulation by public officer

Any person who commits an act of oral copulation, where the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by threatening to use the authority of a public official to incarcerate, arrest, or deport the victim or another, and the victim has a reasonable belief that the perpetrator is a public official, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a period of three, six, or eight years.

As used in this subdivision, “public official” means a person employed by a governmental agency who has the authority, as part of that position, to incarcerate, arrest, or deport another. The perpetrator does not actually have to be a public official.

Conclusion

The punishment for Oral copulation sex crime is equally as severe as sexual battery. The laws may differ depending on the state in which you live.

Reference: Case Text – California Penal Code 287