California has a number of criminal statutes that deal with the transfer of sexually transmitted illnesses or the risk of transmission to others. These laws establish particular STD-related offenses and provide for harsher punishments if someone is infected with an STD and commit other crimes. If you are charged with this or another sex crime, contact Chambers Law Firm at 714-760-4088 for a free legal consultation.
California’s STD crimes
People who carry the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or other sexually transmitted illnesses are explicitly addressed under three criminal statutes in California.
Exposed against will
In California, anybody who exposes himself or herself to others while suffering from an infectious, communicable, or contagious sickness commits a criminal. This is a minor infraction with a penalty of up to a year in prison. This is also a criminal if you deliberately expose someone else who has such a sickness to others.
Tissue donation
It is a criminal in California to donate body materials if you are aware that you are HIV-positive. Donating blood, tissue, sperm, breast milk, or any other body product falls under this category.
Sexual intercourse
In California, it’s also illegal to engage in unprotected sexual behavior with another person while being HIV-positive. You commit a crime if you do so with the intent of infecting another person with the sickness.
Increased penalties
A person who commits certain offenses while afflicted with an STD in California faces a harsher penalty. These rules do not establish new crimes; rather, they allow for harsher punishments when a person commits a crime while being HIV-positive.
Crimes against women
You face a three-year sentence increase if you conduct sexual crimes in California while knowing you are HIV-positive. In California, for example, an oral copulation conviction can result in a jail sentence of up to 14 years. However, if the defendant knew he was HIV-positive at the time of the offence, he may face up to 17 years in jail.
Prostitution
If you are convicted of prostitution or solicitation of prostitution while knowing you are HIV-positive, your sentence may be increased. You will be sentenced as if you had been guilty of a prostitution offense if you knew you had HIV. A first-time prostitution offender, for example, may face a $1,000 fine and up to six months in prison. A court, on the other hand, does not have to sentence you to prison and might instead impose a fine, probation, or a mixture of the two. You will be sentenced to at least 45 days in county prison if you commit the offence while knowing you are HIV-positive. You can still receive a fine and probation from the court, but you must fulfill your jail term.
