Sex crime allegations carry severe criminal and collateral consequences in California, including potential prison time and mandatory sex-offender registration. Understanding your rights and the legal process helps you make informed decisions from the first contact with law enforcement. However, people often misunderstand their right to remain silent, how California’s tiered registration system works, and which charges have no statute of limitations.
In this article, you’ll learn how to avoid these pitfalls and make informed choices.
If you are contacted by police in Manhattan Beach or elsewhere in Los Angeles County, you have the right to remain silent and to have an attorney during custodial interrogation. Statements obtained without proper Miranda warnings are generally inadmissible; you may assert your rights by clearly saying you want a lawyer and will not answer questions (Cornell LII; U.S. Courts).
California prosecutes a range of sex offenses. Examples include rape (Penal Code §261), oral copulation offenses (Penal Code §287), and lewd acts with a minor (Penal Code §288). If the allegation involves oral copulation with a minor, review the elements and penalties here. If the allegation involves sexual assault or rape, speak with a Los Angeles rape lawyer for next-step guidance.
What to do now:
Many people focus only on immediate charges and overlook long-term registration rules. California uses a tiered system under SB 384 with minimum registration periods of 10, 20, or life, and requires annual updates within five working days of your birthday; some individuals must update more frequently (e.g., transients every 30 days, sexually violent predators every 90 days) (CA DOJ SB 384 FAQ; CA Megan’s Law).
California also removed the statute of limitations for prosecuting several serious sex crimes for offenses not already time-barred before January 1, 2017. Assuming a case “must be too old” to file can be wrong (SB 813, ch. 2016).
Correct approach: discuss registration exposure, potential tier placement, and any applicable filing windows with counsel early, so your defense strategy accounts for statutory elements and collateral consequences. (For background on collateral impacts, see judiciary research on registries’ effects: U.S. Courts report.)
Early legal guidance helps you avoid self-incrimination, assess elements the prosecution must prove, and prepare for potential registration outcomes. The presumption of innocence and burden of proof rest with the government throughout the case; aligning your evidence and witnesses to those elements is central to defense planning (Ninth Circuit Pattern Jury Instruction).
If you need to challenge a conviction or sentencing error, speak with a Los Angeles sex crime appeals lawyer.
You can assert your right to remain silent and request counsel during custodial interrogation; questioning must cease until counsel is present if you invoke that right (Constitution Annotated).
Many do. California uses a three-tier system (10, 20, or life) and requires annual updates within five working days of your birthday; some registrants must update more frequently (CA DOJ SB 384 FAQ; CA Megan’s Law).
For several serious sex offenses, including rape, California eliminated the statute of limitations for offenses not already time-barred before January 1, 2017 (SB 813). Older cases that were already time-barred remain time-barred (leginfo.ca.gov).
See the California Penal Code: §261 (rape), §287 (oral copulation offenses), and §288 (lewd acts with a minor).
If you need countywide representation beyond Manhattan Beach, speak with a Los Angeles sex crime lawyer.
For help with Sex Crime Defense in Manhattan Beach, CA, contact Okabe & Haushalter at (310) 543-7708.
Visit our website for firm and location information.
