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Oral copulation is the act more commonly referred to as oral sex. For legal purposes, it is defined as any sexual contact between one person’s mouth and another person’s genitals or anus.
Oral copulation is perfectly legal when done in private among consenting adults.
However, it can be a criminal offense when done
In general, “copulation” is a word for “sexual intercourse.” “Oral copulation,” then, is defined as
The criminal laws of each state may define the act in slightly different ways. However, the only differences are going to be in the details of the act.
Most states cover oral copulation in other sex offense crimes, such as:
California is one of the only states that has a specific penal code section for the act of oral copulation.1
The sexual activity of oral copulation is generally only a crime if it is done in 3 circumstances:
A criminal defense lawyer can help defendants combat any of these criminal allegations.
Obtaining an act of oral copulation by using force or fear is illegal. It undermines any consent that may have been given. This makes it an act of non-consensual sex.
Oral copulation can also be illegal if it was obtained through the use of:
Many states also prohibit oral copulation on someone who is unable to consent, often because they are:
It is also a crime to engage in oral copulation with a minor.
A minor is someone who is under the age of consent. The age of consent depends on the state. For example, the age of consent is 16 in the following states:
It is 17 in these states:
And it is 18 in these states:
Anyone below the legal age of consent is legally incapable of consenting to a sexual act, including oral copulation. In many states, this can amount to statutory rape.
It is also illegal to perform oral copulation in public. So long as it involves 2 consenting adults, this is the least severe type of crime that oral copulation can lead to. Some states may call the offense:
It is often a misdemeanor offense.
The penalties of a conviction for illegal oral copulation will depend on the specific offense and the state in which it was committed. Oral copulation of a minor or through the use of force or fear is generally a felony offense. Oral copulation in public is often a misdemeanor.
For example, in California, a conviction for oral copulation through force or fear carries:
The sentence will be longer if force or fear was used in concert with at least one other person:
Defendants act in concert with one another if they:
If the act of oral copulation involved a minor, the prison sentence for a conviction in California will depend on the ages of those involved:
A state’s Romeo and Juliet law may make it legal for people to engage in oral copulation when they are close in age to one another.
If the conviction involved both force or fear AND a minor, it carries longer prison sentences:
In most cases, defendants convicted of these forms of sexual assault are also subjected to sex offender registration requirements.
If the oral copulation was between consenting adults, but was done in public, it can be charged as:
Two of the most common legal defenses to a charge of illegal oral copulation are:
In some cases, oral copulation charges are based solely on the alleged victim’s report of the crime. However, many of these reports are known to be false to the person making them. The victim is often only making the allegations to get back at the defendant for something else. Showing that they are false accusations can be an effective legal defense.
Consent can also be an effective defense to a charge of oral copulation. However, it is not a defense when the accusation is for a sex act that:
In California, oral copulation by force or fear and oral copulation with a minor are prohibited by California Penal Code 287 PC. Sex acts in public, including oral copulation, fall under either Penal Code 314, which prohibits indecent exposure, or Penal Code 647(a), which covers lewd conduct in public.
Oral copulation is defined as contact, no matter how slight, between
To prove a case of oral copulation by force or fear, California law enforcement has to show the following elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt:
A threat to retaliate includes a threat to:
It is a defense to an oral copulation offense if the defendant reasonably believed that the alleged victim consented to the act.19
A criminal defense attorney from a reputable law firm can provide effective sex crimes defense to people charged under California’s oral copulation laws.
In California, the crime of oral copulation used to be prohibited by Penal Code 288a, rather than Penal Code 287. This changed on January 1, 2019. The state legislature renumbered PC 288a to PC 287. The text of the law and its penalties remained the same.
The change was likely made to avoid confusion with the crime of lewd acts with a child under 14 (Penal Code 288(a)).
A former Los Angeles prosecutor, attorney Neil Shouse graduated with honors from UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School (and completed additional graduate studies at MIT). He has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, Dr Phil, The Today Show and Court TV. Mr Shouse has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the Top 100 Criminal and Top 100 Civil Attorneys.