California PC 267 makes it a crime to abduct a child for prostitution. Prostitution, in this case, could be the exchange of sexual favors for money or compensation. A violation of PC 267 is a form of sex trafficking, which makes it a severe offense.

You are liable for this offense if the prosecuting attorney establishes that you took a child away from their parent's or guardian's care. Additionally, your intent to entice the child or force them into prostitution must be clear. Since the offense is classified as a felony, your conviction for abducting a child for prostitution can result in severe legal and collateral consequences.

The penalties will include serving time in prison, fines, and mandatory sex offender registration. Additionally, you will have a criminal record, which will have lasting effects on your prospects. You must hire and retain a defense attorney when charged with this offense to protect your constitutional rights and fight the charges.

Understanding California PC 267

California PC 267 protects minors from abduction and sexual exploitation. A minor cannot consent to a sexual act in California. Therefore, you cannot avoid the charges by claiming that the child agreed to come with you and engage in prostitution. The court will find you guilty of this offense when the prosecution establishes the following elements:

You Abducted a Child

Under the statute, abduction involves taking away a child from their parent or legal guardian. This could be accomplished through luring the child or the use of force to subdue them. You are guilty of abducting a minor if the person you took was a child under 18 years old. The evidence to support the alleged victim's age could be from school records, birth certificates, and other legal documents.

You Took the Child Without Consent

The guardian has a right to decide what happens to children under 18, including their movements. Therefore, before taking a child away, you must have their consent.

The prosecution team must prove that the parent or legal guardian of the child you took did not consent to your actions. Proving this fact is critical because it supports the claim that your actions constituted abduction.

You Intended to Prostitute the Child

A critical element that needs to be proven to secure your conviction under PC 267 is your intent to prostitute the minor. Therefore, the prosecution must show that you intended to facilitate or entice the child to prostitution.

Prostitution, in this case, involves the exchange of sexual intercourse or other forms of lewd conduct with money or compensation. The prosecuting attorney can establish your intent by communicating with the child or other co-conspirators. Additionally, your prior actions, including past convictions of a similar crime, can be used to prove this factor.

If you made plans to further your acts of recruiting a child to prostitution, these factors can strengthen the prosecutor's case against you.

Penalties for Abducting a Minor For Prostitution

A violation of California PC 267 attracts felony charges. If convicted of this offense, you could face the following penalties:

  • A prison sentence of sixteen months, two or three years
  • Up to $2,000 in fines
  • Felony probation

Whether the court will sentence you to 16 months, two years, or three years for your crime will depend on the following factors:

  • Injuries to the victims. Abduction involves a level of force necessary to subdue a victim. For this reason, you could cause injuries to the minor. The presence or absence of injuries to the victim will determine the severity of your punishment.
  • Criminal record. California law is strict on individuals with multiple convictions on record. Therefore, if you have a prior conviction for a similar or related offense, you could face maximum punishment for your offense.
  • The level of sophistication in your conduct. Under California law, criminal sophistication is determined by how well you planned and executed the crime. You may face harsher penalties if you depict extreme sophistication.
  • Number of victims. You can face charges under CPC 267 for abducting one or multiple children. The severity of your charges and penalties will vary depending on the number of victims involved.

Can I be Sentenced to Probation for Abducting a Child for Prostitution?

Yes. After your conviction under PC 267, the judge can sentence you to probation. Instead of serving your full prison time in detention, you can serve a portion on close supervision. Felony or formal probation lasts for up to 5 years.

However, this sentence is not available for all defendants. You may negotiate the probation sentence when you have no prior convictions. Additionally, you should not have aggravating circumstances in your case. Probation will allow you to avoid the stigma of being in custody. However, this sentence carries mandatory conditions, which you must adhere to. Failure to do so will cause you to be charged with probation violation.

The conditions of your probation after a conviction for this crime could include:

  • Pay all your fines and court costs
  • Mandatory sex offender registration
  • No contact order with the victim of your acts and other children
  • Stay out of trouble
  • Report your progress to a court-appointed probation officer

If you violate your probation, a judge can revoke it and sentence you to the maximum penalty for your offense.

Sex Offender Registration

The most feared consequence of a conviction for abducting a child and coercing or enticing them to prostitution is the mandatory requirement to register as a sex offender. California PC 290 is the law that requires individuals convicted of sex crimes to register as sex offenders.

This means you will provide your identification information to local law enforcement departments and renew the registry each year after your birthday. If you move locations, you must update the registry with your new address.

Being a convicted sex offender can impact your career and also your personal life. Law enforcement officers will closely monitor you, and if a crime happens near your area, you will be subject to investigation and questioning. Registration as a sex offender is a constant reminder of your offenses and can result in social stigma.

Sex offender registration is classified into three tiers. The length of your registration as a sex offender will vary depending on the severity of your sex crime. A violation of PC 267 is a Tier 3 offense, which requires a lifetime registration. The sex offender registry is a public record. Therefore, it will be accessible to everyone who digs through your record.

Immigration Consequences

The abduction of a child for prostitution is a serious felony. Therefore, if you are an immigrant, you risk losing your immigration status after a conviction. After an arrest, you will be detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. You could be deported or rendered inadmissible if found guilty of the offense.

Consequences on your Professional Life

Your conviction for abducting a child for prostitution will enter into your criminal record. Misdemeanor and felony criminal convictions are public records in California. This means that a potential employer can find your conviction.

With a conviction for a serious sex crime like PC 267, it may be challenging to obtain meaningful employment. When your professional licensing board learns of your conviction, you will be under investigation, leading to an administrative hearing and potential disciplinary action.

A conviction for abducting a minor for prostitution can cause a loss of your professional license through suspension and revocation. This could result in the loss of your livelihood and career.

Legal Defense Against California PC 267 Charges

If you are charged and convicted of abducting a child for prostitution, your punishment will be severe. In addition to spending time in prison and paying hefty fines, the conviction could taint your record. A conviction for such a serious crime on your record will impact many aspects of your life.

If you are arrested for this violation, you should be ready to defend the charges vigorously. This can be achieved by working with an experienced criminal defense attorney who will assist you in compiling the necessary evidence and putting forth the following arguments:

No False Imprisonment or Transportation of a Minor

California law defines abduction as taking a person against their will or moving and holding them captive. Therefore, the prosecuting attorney must prove that you moved a child from their home or another location. Additionally, it must be clear that you held them against their will for you to be convicted of this offense.

You can avoid liability under PC 267 by arguing that the minor was in the alleged location willfully or you did not move them. This defense is applicable if you show that the child was free to leave.

Lack of Intent to Prostitute The Child

In addition to proving that you took a child and held them captive, the prosecuting attorney must prove your intent to entice or solicit the victim into prostitution. Proving a specific criminal intent is often challenging for the prosecution. You could avoid a conviction by claiming you lacked the intent to commit the crime.

Lack of Enough  Evidence

When you are charged with abducting a child for prostitution, the prosecution team must prove all the facts of your case. This is by presenting evidence to show that you took the child against their will and you intended to entice or coerce them into prostitution.

With the help of your attorney, you can find evidence to dispute the prosecutor's claim. You can fight the charges and avoid a conviction by creating doubt in their case against you. Alternatively, it can weaken the case against you, which may lower the punishment you stand to face after your conviction.

The Victim was not a Child

You will be charged and convicted under PC 267 if you abduct a child with the intent to lure them into prostitution. Therefore, the prosecution must prove that the victim of your acts was a minor under eighteen years old at the time. In California, minors cannot consent to a sexual act. Therefore, all sexual acts involving or depicting minors are considered criminal.

If you establish that the victim of your actions was not a child, you could avoid the conviction under PC 267. However, supervising or aiding prostitution, even for adults, is a crime under California PC 653.23. Therefore, you could be charged with this offense instead.

Unlike PC 267, aiding or supervising prostitution is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail. You can avoid spending time in jail for this offense by negotiating a probation sentence with the district attorney or prosecutor.

Coerced Confessions

Minors are a vulnerable group in society. For this reason, California law is strict on individuals who commit crimes against children. Law enforcement officers often succumb to societal pressure to make an arrest and hold someone accountable for heinous acts like the abduction of a minor for prostitution.

If the slightest evidence links you to the crime, law enforcement officers can coerce you into taking liability for the offense. Therefore, before you speak with investigators, you must exercise your right to remain silent and only give information with the guidance of your attorney. You could avoid a conviction under PC 267 by proving you are a victim of coerced confessions.

Entrapment

Law enforcement officers often engage in undercover or sting operations to catch individuals who engage in or facilitate prostitution. During these operations, an officer can pose as a child. This allows them to catch you in the act. Sometimes, the officers could use overbearing tactics, which could translate into entrapment.

You can ask the court to have evidence obtained through entrapment removed from your case if the prosecutor's case relies on it. The prosecutor may have difficulties securing a conviction against you without a confession or self-incriminating remarks.

Miranda Violations

Even when arrested for committing a crime in California, you have constitutional rights that must be respected during the investigation and prosecution. After your arrest, the arresting officer must read your Miranda rights before you are interrogated. The Miranda rights notify you of your right to remain silent and the right to obtain legal counsel.

This prevents you from providing information that can be used against you. You can claim a Miranda rights violation as a defense for your charges. If the officer did not read your Miranda rights, the information you offered during your investigation cannot be used against you.

False Allegations

Not all charges under PC 267 can be substantiated. You could occasionally become a victim of unfound criminal accusations. This might happen if someone seeks revenge for your tense relationship or is upset with you. In other situations, the real culprit can try to place the blame on you.

Under these circumstances, you can avoid a conviction by presenting an alibi for when the crime was committed. You can use witness testimony and physical evidence, such as video surveillance, to establish this fact.

Illegal Search and Seizure

A search of your home or business is a critical part of the investigation for abducting a minor for prostitution. The police might visit your house to look for a missing child or go through your electronics to find proof of the offense.

Nonetheless, everyone in California is shielded from unauthorized searches. This implies that the prosecution needs a valid search warrant from the court before accessing your home.

Officers must also ensure their searches are within the warrant’s scope. If the police search your home without a valid warrant or beyond their authorized warrant, you might become the victim of illegal searches. A successful defense of unlawful searches may result in dismissing the evidence collected during these searches.

Statute of Limitations

California’s statute of limitations determines when a prosecutor or district attorney can file criminal charges against you. You cannot be prosecuted for your offense after the statute of limitations has passed. The legal window for kidnapping a child for prostitution closes when the child is 40 years old.

Find a Skilled Criminal Lawyer Near Me

You could be arrested and charged under CPC 267 if you take away a minor from their family or guardian with the intent to prostitute them. The prosecution will obtain a conviction against you if you accomplished the abduction through inducement or solicitation.

The stakes are high for defendants facing charges of abducting a minor for prostitution. This is because the offense is charged as a felony, and you may find yourself behind bars after a conviction. Additionally, the court will mandate you to register as a sex offender for a lifetime. Fortunately, facing an arrest does not mean you will be found guilty of the offense.

With the insight of a knowledgeable legal team, you can build a solid defense and beat the charges. Your decision on legal representation can make the difference in spending a long time in prison and walking out of court with a dismissed case. At Los Angeles Criminal Attorney, we are dedicated to offering expert legal representation for individuals battling sex crime charges in Los Angeles, CA. Call us at 424-333-0943 for much-needed insight.