The Penalties For California Sex Crimes Involving Great Bodily Injury and/or Weapons

California felony sex offenses that result in great bodily injury to anyone other than the accused or an accomplice, and offenses that involve firearms or other dangerous or deadly weapons, will result in severe and enhanced punishment for the accused. The experienced sex crime defense attorneys at The Kavinoky Law Firm are the key to avoiding these devastating penalties.

An individual convicted of inflicting great bodily injury during the commission or attempted commission of a felony sex offense will receive a consecutive three-year prison sentence in addition to the punishment that he or she receives for the underlying offense. If the victim’s injury resulted in a coma or paralysis or if the injured victim was over 70 years of age, the accused will receive an additional and consecutive five-year sentence. If the injured victim is a child under the age of 5, the accused will receive a four, five or six-year consecutive enhancement. It should be noted that when three sentencing options are available, the judge is required to impose the middle term unless aggravating or mitigating circumstances support either the higher or lower term. The enhancement will be the same if the injured victim is an intimate partner of the accused, meaning his or her heterosexual or same-sex partner, the person with whom he or she lives, the person whom he or she is dating, or a person with whom the accused was formerly involved.

An individual convicted of inflicting great bodily injury on a victim during the commission or attempted commission of certain acts of rape, spousal rape, rape in concert, lewd or lascivious acts, forced penetration, sodomy or oral copulation will also receive a five-year enhancement for each violation. In circumstances such as this, where a consecutive sentence is not mentioned, it means that the judge has the option whether to impose the enhancement consecutively or concurrently. It must be noted that if two or more enhancements are applicable to the same victim for the same offense, only the highest great bodily injury enhancement will be imposed, however, enhancements for other situations may still apply.

An individual convicted of being armed with a firearm or of using a dangerous or deadly weapon while committing or attempting to commit a felony sex offense, will receive an additional one-year enhancement. If the individual was acting in concert with another during the offense or attempted offense, and knew that the other person was armed, he or she will receive an additional and consecutive term of one, two or three years.

An individual convicted of being armed with a weapon during the commission or attempted commission of a rape, spousal rape, rape in concert, sodomy, lewd or lascivious acts, oral copulation or forced penetration, will receive a one, two or five-year additional enhancement. An individual convicted of using a firearm or deadly weapon under those same circumstances will receive an additional three, four or ten-year enhancement.

An individual convicted of using a firearm during the commission or attempted commission of a felony sex offense will receive an additional and consecutive term of three, four or ten years. If the firearm is an assault weapon, the accused will receive an additional and consecutive term of five, six or ten years.

It should be noted that an individual convicted of using a firearm during the commission or attempted commission of lewd or lascivious acts, rape, spousal rape, rape in concert, the continuous sexual abuse of a child, sodomy, oral copulation, sexual penetration or the aggravated sexual assault of a child, will not be granted probation. It should also be noted that only one enhancement (the one that imposes the greatest sentence) will be applied for a crime involving a weapon, however other enhancements for other circumstances (for example, great bodily injury) may be additionally imposed.

To learn more about sex offense penalties and defenses, contact the outstanding criminal defense attorneys at The Kavinoky Law Firm today for a free consultation.