How Sexual Battery Charges Affect Your College Career – Penal Code Section 243.4

College football fans in Tallahassee, Fla. are rejoicing today knowing that Jameis Winston, star quarterback of the top-ranked Florida State Seminoles and favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, won’t have to face sexual assault charges. His college career remains unaffected and he is on track to play in the biggest college football game of the year, the 2014 BCS National Title Game. However, sexual battery charges affect your college career if you are accused of the crime.

One has to wonder if Winston would be facing disciplinary action if he was not the star quarterback for the number one ranked college football team in the nation. It certainly seems that colleges set their own rules as to which students will face what type of punishment (if any) for being accused of serious offenses.

But not all students are as fortunate as Winston. In September, 19-year-old Alexander Riddle, a student at Paine College in Augusta, Ga. was expelled from school just for being arrested on misdemeanor sexual battery allegations. He hadn’t been convicted of anything.¹

Our attorneys at Wallin & Klarich want you to understand that prosecutors take sexual misconduct seriously and will pursue criminal charges if they have enough evidence to charge you.

What is Sexual Battery?

If you are a student being charged with sexual battery, you need to know that sexual battery charges affect your college career.

California law pursuant to Penal Code Section 243.4 (PC 243.4) defines sexual battery as touching the “intimate part” of another person against that person’s will while that person is unlawfully restrained for the purposes of:

• Sexual arousal;
• Sexual gratification; or
• Sexual abuse.

The law may be broadly applied to virtually any unwanted touching that is sexually motivated including kissing someone who doesn’t want to be kissed.

What are the Consequences of a Sexual Battery Charge?

The District Attorney’s office has the option of charging you with either a misdemeanor or a felony violation of sexual battery depending on the circumstances of the crime and your criminal history. A misdemeanor conviction is punishable by up to one year in jail, a maximum fine of $2,000, or both. A felony conviction could send you to state prison for two, four or six years and include a fine of up to $10,000.

Most devastating of all, a violation of PC 243.4 is a registerable sex offense. Even if you have your conviction dismissed after successfully completing probation, you will continue to have to register as a sex offender.² In California, sex offender registration is a lifetime requirement. Failure to do so is a crime in itself.

Other consequences you face with sex offender registration as a result of a conviction for sexual battery include, but are not limited to the following:

• Your picture and information being posted publicly on Megan’s Law (www.meganslaw.ca.gov), unless you are eligible for exclusion. You may also find yourself posted on privately operated “offender” websites (e.g., Mugshots.com, Homefacts.com, Familywatchdog.us, Offendex.com, etc.);
• Employment discrimination: Although illegal, companies are reluctant to hire a sex offender and will often refuse to hire you for other reasons;
• Being prohibited from being within 300-500 feet or living within 2,000 feet of places where children are likely to be found in cities or counties where a local ordinance is enforced (e.g. parks, schools, day care centers, school bus stops, playgrounds, public libraries and swimming pools).
• Vigilantism and harassment;
• Difficulty obtaining a residential lease;
• Difficulty getting accepted into a college or university; and/or
• Expulsion from school.

Call to Find Out How Sexual Battery Charges Affect Your College Career

If you or someone you know has been charged with sexual battery, you need to contact an experienced criminal defense attorney at Wallin & Klarich today. At Wallin & Klarich, our attorneys have over 40 years of experience successfully defending our clients charged with serious sexual offense.

We can help you avoid the serious consequences of a sexual battery conviction, such as jail time, fines and sex offender registration. If every element of the crime cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, we will argue that the charges against you must be dismissed.

With offices in Los Angeles, Sherman Oaks, Torrance, Tustin, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, West Covina and Victorville, our skilled criminal defense attorneys at Wallin & Klarich will aggressively defend you against the life-altering consequences of a sexual battery conviction. Our attorneys are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to make certain all of your rights are protected. Our goal is to help you win your case.

Call us today at (877) 4-NO-JAIL or (877) 466-5245 for a free telephone consultation. We will get through this together.

<sup>1. [WRDW-TV, Augusta: “UPDATE: Paine College student facing charges in alleged sexual assault;” http://www.wrdw.com/home/headlines/Paine-College-officials-say-alleged-sexual-battery-incident-happened-on-campus-222386481.html]↩
2. [Pen. Code § 290.007; See also Pen. Code § 290.5]↩</sup>