I Am Being Accused of Lewd Acts in Public – PC 647(a)

Penal Code 647(a) aims to punish an individual who:

“Solicits anyone to engage in or who engages in lewd or dissolute conduct in any public place or in any place open to the public or exposed to public view.”

This means that it is illegal to commit “deviant” conduct in public, or to ask another person to do so. Behavior punishable under PC 647(a) includes masturbating in a strip club or adult movie theater with other patrons nearby. Any sort of public touching of the genitals, buttocks, or female breast area of yourself or another person can also be a violation under PC 647(a).

If you face a lewd act in public charge, you need an experienced criminal defense attorney from Wallin & Klarich to help you avoid a lengthy jail sentence and maintain your clean criminal record.

Prosecution for Lewd Acts in Public

Engaging in lewd conduct in public is a misdemeanor and is punishable by imprisonment in county jail for up to 6 months.

To convict you of engaging in or soliciting lewd conduct in public under PC 647(a), the prosecutor must prove the following five elements:

• You willfully engaged in the touching of your own or another person’s genitals, buttocks, or female breast;
• You did so with the intent to sexually arouse or gratify yourself or another person, or to annoy or offend another person;
• At the time you engaged in the conduct, you were in a public place or a place open to the public or to public view;
• At the time you engaged in the conduct, someone else who might have been offended was present; AND
• You knew or reasonably should have known that another person who might have been offended by your conduct was present.

Punishment for Lewd Acts in Public

California harshly punishes a conviction of engaging in or soliciting a lewd act in public. Soliciting or engaging in lewd conduct in public is a misdemeanor under PC 647(a) and is punishable by imprisonment in county jail for up to 6 months, a fine of up to $1,000, or both a fine and imprisonment.

Under PC 290.006, the court has discretion to order a person convicted of engaging in or soliciting lewd conduct in public to register as a sex offender. If sex offender registration is required for your conviction, you must register with local law enforcement agencies (police or sheriff) where you live and work within (5) days of coming into the city or county. Your status as a registered sex offender may then be disclosed to the public, including potential employers.

California Sex Crimes Attorney

The law firm of Wallin & Klarich has been successfully defending our clients facing lewd acts in public charges for over 40 years. Our firm can help you raise all possible defenses to your lewd conduct in public charge. For over 40 years, we have been able to help many of our clients get their lewd conduct in public charges reduced or dismissed.

We will aggressively defend you from the moment you retain our office to help you avoid jail time. For example, we will prepare a complete summary of all the relevant facts you are aware of that could potentially favor your case. After a thorough investigation into the facts, we will tailor the most effective defense strategy to your case.

If you are accused of committing a lewd act in public under PC 647(a), it is in your best interest to contact the experienced law firm of Wallin & Klarich to help you defend your rights.
Our offices are located in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, West Covina, Victorville, Torrance, and Sherman Oaks. Call us today at (877) 4-NO-JAIL or (877) 466-5245. We will be there when you call.