Cal. Codes » Penal Code / PART 1. OF CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS / TITLE 9. OF CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON INVOLVING SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC DECENCY AND GOOD MORALS / CHAPTER 5. Bigamy, Incest, and the Crime Against Nature
California Codes

Cal. Penal Code § 287 (2026)

Bigamy, Incest, and the Crime Against Nature

✓ leginfo export of Sept. 26, 2026 (applied Oct. 1, 2026)
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(a)Oral copulation is the act of copulating the mouth of one person with the sexual organ or anus of another person.

(b)(1)Except as provided in Section 288, any person who participates in an act of oral copulation with another person who is under 18 years of age shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison, or in a county jail for a period of not more than one year.

(2)Except as provided in Section 288, any person over 21 years of age who participates in an act of oral copulation with another person who is under 16 years of age is guilty of a felony.

(c)(1)Any person who participates in an act of oral copulation with another person who is under 14 years of age and more than 10 years younger than he or she shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight years.

(2)(A)Any person who commits an act of oral copulation when the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight years.

(B)Any person who commits an act of oral copulation upon a person who is under 14 years of age, when the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 8, 10, or 12 years.

(C)Any person who commits an act of oral copulation upon a minor who is 14 years of age or older, when the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 6, 8, or 10 years.

(D)This paragraph does not preclude prosecution under Section 269, Section 288.7, or any other provision of law.

(3)Any person who commits an act of oral copulation where the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by threatening to retaliate in the future against the victim or any other person, and there is a reasonable possibility that the perpetrator will execute the threat, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight years.

(d)(1)Any person who, while voluntarily acting in concert with another person, either personally or by aiding and abetting that other person, commits an act of oral copulation (A) when the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by means of force or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person, or (B) where the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by threatening to retaliate in the future against the victim or any other person, and there is a reasonable possibility that the perpetrator will execute the threat, or (C) where the victim is at the time incapable, because of a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability, of giving legal consent, and this is known or reasonably should be known to the person committing the act, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for five, seven, or nine years. Notwithstanding the appointment of a conservator with respect to the victim pursuant to the provisions of the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (Part 1 (commencing with Section 5000) of Division 5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code), the prosecuting attorney shall prove, as an element of the crime described under paragraph (3), that a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability rendered the alleged victim incapable of giving legal consent.

(2)Any person who, while voluntarily acting in concert with another person, either personally or aiding and abetting that other person, commits an act of oral copulation upon a victim who is under 14 years of age, when the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by means of force or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 10, 12, or 14 years.

(3)Any person who, while voluntarily acting in concert with another person, either personally or aiding and abetting that other person, commits an act of oral copulation upon a victim who is a minor 14 years of age or older, when the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by means of force or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 8, 10, or 12 years.

(4)This paragraph does not preclude prosecution under Section 269, Section 288.7, or any other provision of law.

(e)Any person who participates in an act of oral copulation while confined in any state prison, as defined in Section 4504 or in any local detention facility as defined in Section 6031.4, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison, or in a county jail for a period of not more than one year.

(f)Any person who commits an act of oral copulation, and the victim is at the time unconscious of the nature of the act and this is known to the person committing the act, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a period of three, six, or eight years. As used in this subdivision, “unconscious of the nature of the act” means incapable of resisting because the victim meets one of the following conditions:

(1)Was unconscious or asleep.

(2)Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant that the act occurred.

(3)Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant of the essential characteristics of the act due to the perpetrator’s fraud in fact.

(4)Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant of the essential characteristics of the act due to the perpetrator’s fraudulent representation that the oral copulation served a professional purpose when it served no professional purpose.

(g)Except as provided in subdivision (h), any person who commits an act of oral copulation, and the victim is at the time incapable, because of a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability, of giving legal consent, and this is known or reasonably should be known to the person committing the act, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison, for three, six, or eight years. Notwithstanding the existence of a conservatorship pursuant to the provisions of the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (Part 1 (commencing with Section 5000) of Division 5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code), the prosecuting attorney shall prove, as an element of the crime, that a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability rendered the alleged victim incapable of giving consent.

(h)Any person who commits an act of oral copulation, and the victim is at the time incapable, because of a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability, of giving legal consent, and this is known or reasonably should be known to the person committing the act, and both the defendant and the victim are at the time confined in a state hospital for the care and treatment of the mentally disordered or in any other public or private facility for the care and treatment of the mentally disordered approved by a county mental health director, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison, or in a county jail for a period of not more than one year. Notwithstanding the existence of a conservatorship pursuant to the provisions of the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (Part 1 (commencing with Section 5000) of Division 5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code), the prosecuting attorney shall prove, as an element of the crime, that a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability rendered the alleged victim incapable of giving legal consent.

(i)Any person who commits an act of oral copulation, where the victim is prevented from resisting by any intoxicating or anesthetic substance, or any controlled substance, and this condition was known, or reasonably should have been known by the accused, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a period of three, six, or eight years.

(j)Any person who commits an act of oral copulation, where the victim submits under the belief that the person committing the act is someone known to the victim other than the accused, and this belief is induced by any artifice, pretense, or concealment practiced by the accused, with intent to induce the belief, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a period of three, six, or eight years.

(k)Any person who commits an act of oral copulation, where the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by threatening to use the authority of a public official to incarcerate, arrest, or deport the victim or another, and the victim has a reasonable belief that the perpetrator is a public official, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a period of three, six, or eight years.

As used in this subdivision, “public official” means a person employed by a governmental agency who has the authority, as part of that position, to incarcerate, arrest, or deport another. The perpetrator does not actually have to be a public official.

(l)As used in subdivisions (c) and (d), “threatening to retaliate” means a threat to kidnap or falsely imprison, or to inflict extreme pain, serious bodily injury, or death.

(m)In addition to any punishment imposed under this section, the judge may assess a fine not to exceed seventy dollars ($70) against any person who violates this section, with the proceeds of this fine to be used in accordance with Section 1463.23. The court shall, however, take into consideration the defendant’s ability to pay, and no defendant shall be denied probation because of his or her inability to pay the fine permitted under this subdivision.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 42 cases (38 in the last 5 years), 1950–2026 · leading case: People v. Gordon, 165 Cal. App. 3d 839 (Cal. Ct. App. 1985).
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People v. Gordon, 165 Cal. App. 3d 839 (Cal. Ct. App. 1985). · cites it 2× “(Pen. Code, § 287.) Effective January 1, 1980, the phrase "Except as provided in Section 288" was added to this subsection.”
People v. Martinez, 188 Cal. App. 3d 19 (Cal. Ct. App. 1986). · cites it 2× “As part of the original code of 1872, Penal Code section 287 provided that “Any sexual penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete the crime against nature.”
People v. Hickok, 216 P.2d 140 (Cal. Ct. App. 1950). “) The statutes dealing with the crime against nature and rape expressly provide that “Any sexual penetration, however slight” is sufficient to constitute the defined crimes.”
People v. Ramos, 270 P.2d 540 (Cal. Ct. App. 1954). “(Pen. Code, § 287.) Recitation of the nauseating details would serve no purpose.”
In the Matter of the Pers. Restraint of: Jimmy D. Click, No. 39688-6 (Wash. Ct. App. Feb. 25, 2025). · cites it 3× “PENAL CODE § 288a(c) (1985) (recodified as CAL. PENAL CODE § 287 by Stats. 2018, Ch.”
People v. Osorio, No. A162881 (Cal. Ct. App. Mar. 25, 2022). · cites it 2× “(c), counts 1, 4, 5, and 6); oral copulation of a person under 18 (Pen. Code, § 287, subd. (b)(1), count 2); forcible oral copulation of a minor victim over 14 (Pen.”
People v. Renfroe, No. G063292 (Cal. Ct. App. July 15, 2024). · cites it 2× “5); count 9, oral copulation with a person under 18 (Pen. Code, § 287, subd. (b)(1)); and count 10, sexual penetration 3 with a person under 18 (Pen.”
In Re J.H. ca4/1, No. D084449 (Cal. Ct. App. Sept. 16, 2025). · cites it 2× “(b)(1)), and oral copulation by force, violence, duress, menace, and fear (count 4; Penal Code § 287, subd. (c)(2)(a)), related to the first incident in October 2018; and burglary (count 5, Penal Code § 220, subd.”
People v. Montenegro, No. H053590 (Cal. Ct. App. Apr. 17, 2026). · cites it 2× “The prosecution charged Montenegro by complaint with seven counts: three counts of oral copulation by force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of a minor 14 years of age or older (Pen. Code, § 287, subd. (c)(2)(C); counts 1-3);1 three counts of lewd or lascivious acts upon a…”
People v. Fuentes, No. E075710 (Cal. Ct. App. Jan. 21, 2021). “(c)(2)(B); count 3); forcible oral copulation (Doe1) (Pen. Code, § 287, subd. (c)(2)(B); count 4), and a second count of forcible sodomy (Doe2) (Pen.”
In re Nicholas M., No. A163117 (Cal. Ct. App. May 4, 2022). “Code, § 602; Pen. Code, §§ 287, subd. (b)(1), 17, subd.”
People v. Wade, No. C094386 (Cal. Ct. App. Nov. 8, 2022). “The Charges The Yuba County District Attorney’s Office filed an information charging defendant with five offenses: forcible oral copulation upon a minor 14 years old or older (Pen. Code, § 287, subd. (c)(2)(C)—count I)1 ; forcible rape (§ 261, subd.”
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