Cal. Codes » Penal Code

Cal. Penal Code § 311.4

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(a)Every person who, with knowledge that a person is a minor, or who, while in possession of any facts on the basis of which they should reasonably know that the person is a minor, hires, employs, or uses the minor to do or assist in doing any of the acts described in Section 311.2, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year, or by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state prison. If the person has previously been convicted of any violation of this section, the court may, in addition to the punishment authorized in Section 311.9, impose a fine not exceeding fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).

(b)Every person who, with knowledge that a person is a minor under 18 years of age, or who, while in possession of any facts on the basis of which they should reasonably know that the person is a minor under 18 years of age, knowingly promotes, employs, uses, persuades, induces, or coerces a minor under 18 years of age, or any parent or guardian of a minor under 18 years of age who is under their control who knowingly permits the minor, to engage in or assist others to engage in either posing or modeling alone or with others for purposes of preparing any representation of information, data, or image, including, but not limited to, any film, filmstrip, photograph, negative, slide, photocopy, videotape, video laser disc, computer hardware, computer software, computer floppy disc, data storage media, CD-ROM, or computer-generated equipment or any other computer-generated image that contains or incorporates in any manner, any film, filmstrip, digitally altered or artificial-intelligence-generated matter, or live performance, involving sexual conduct by a minor under 18 years of age alone or with other persons or animals, for commercial purposes, is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight years.

(c)Every person who, with knowledge that a person is a minor under 18 years of age, or who, while in possession of any facts on the basis of which they should reasonably know that the person is a minor under 18 years of age, knowingly promotes, employs, uses, persuades, induces, or coerces a minor under 18 years of age, or any parent or guardian of a minor under 18 years of age who is under their control who knowingly permits the minor, to engage in or assist others to engage in either posing or modeling alone or with others for purposes of preparing any representation of information, data, or image, including, but not limited to, any film, filmstrip, photograph, negative, slide, photocopy, videotape, video laser disc, computer hardware, computer software, computer floppy disc, data storage media, CD-ROM, or computer-generated equipment or any other computer-generated image that contains or incorporates in any manner, any film, filmstrip, digitally altered or artificial-intelligence-generated matter, or live performance, involving sexual conduct by a minor under 18 years of age alone or with other persons or animals, is guilty of a felony. It is not necessary to prove commercial purposes in order to establish a violation of this subdivision.

(d)As used in subdivisions (b) and (c), “sexual conduct” means any of the following, whether actual or simulated: sexual intercourse, oral copulation, anal intercourse, anal oral copulation, masturbation, bestiality, sexual sadism, sexual masochism, penetration of the vagina or rectum by any object in a lewd or lascivious manner, exhibition of the genitals or pubic or rectal area for the purpose of sexual stimulation of the viewer, any lewd or lascivious sexual act as defined in Section 288, or excretory functions performed in a lewd or lascivious manner, whether or not any of the above conduct is performed alone or between members of the same or opposite sex or between humans and animals. An act is simulated when it gives the appearance of being sexual conduct.

(e)This section does not apply to a legally emancipated minor or to lawful conduct between spouses if one or both are under 18 years of age.

(f)In every prosecution under this section involving a minor under 14 years of age at the time of the offense, the age of the victim shall be pled and proven for the purpose of the enhanced penalty provided in Section 647.6. Failure to plead and prove that the victim was under 14 years of age at the time of the offense is not a bar to prosecution under this section if it is proven that the victim was under 18 years of age at the time of the offense.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 25 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1990–2024 · leading case: People v. Kongs
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People v. Kongs (1994) calctapp · cites it 6× “6), three counts of using a minor to pose for visual depictions of sexual conduct (Pen. Code, § 311.4, subd. (c)), and one count of possessing child pornography (Pen.”
People v. Holford (2012) calctapp · cites it 2× “So while certain jurors will most likely find it distasteful to view 25 minutes of a tape some of which at least contains child pornography within the meaning of [Penal Code section 311.4, subdivision (d)], I think that is simply a cost of doing business in this case.”
Purcell v. Commonwealth (2004) ky · cites it 2× “, Cal.Penal Code § 311.4; Colo. Rev. St. § 18-6-403; Mo.”
United States v. Christy (2011) nmd · cites it 3× “11; (ix) production of child pornography — California Penal Code § 311.4; and (x) unlawful oral copulation with a minor — California Penal Code § 288A.”
Outmezguine v. State (1994) md · cites it 2× “§§ 5-27-403 , -404 (Michie 1993); Cal.Penal Code § 311.4 (West 1988); Colo.”
People v. Cochran (2002) cal “Penal Code section 311.4 proscribes employing a minor to produce child pornography.”
United States v. David Reinhart (2018) ca9 “…or excretory functions performed in a lewd or lascivious manner. Cal. Penal Code § 311.4 (d)(1). Our court has previously conducted the categorical analysis of California Penal Code § 311.11(a) and the federal definition of “child pornography” and “sexually explicit…”
United States v. Michael Portanova (2020) ca3 “2015) (California Penal Code § 311.4(d)’s definition of “sexual conduct” “simply lists numerous ways in which an image may be considered to depict ‘sexual conduct’” and is thus not divisible)).”
People v. Hobbs (2007) calctapp · cites it 3× “) By contrast, Penal Code section 311.4, subdivision (c) applies to anyone who “promotes, employs, uses, persuades, induces, or coerces a minor .”
LeBlanc v. People (2012) virginislands “01 ; 8 Cal. Penal Code § 311.4 ; Former La.”
State v. Johnson (2009) minnctapp “” CaLPenal Code § 311.4(d) (1994) (emphasis added).”
People v. Flaherty (1990) calctapp “(a)), and six counts of inducing a minor to pose for photographs involving sexual conduct (Pen. Code, § 311.4, subd. (c)). It is significant for our purposes that four of the offenses to which appellant pled guilty occurred in 1986 and three occurred in 1987.”
Show all 25 citing cases →
— Cal. Penal Code § 311.4(c) — 6 cases
United States v. Christy (2011) nmd “11; (ix) production of child pornography — California Penal Code § 311.4; and (x) unlawful oral copulation with a minor — California Penal Code § 288A.”
Molinar v. Newland (2001) cand
Oscar Chavez Solis v. Loretta E. Lynch (2015)
Kenneth Casey v. Michael Martel (2012) ca9
(HC) DeAnda v. Koenig (2021) caed
— Cal. Penal Code § 311.4(d) — 2 cases
United States v. Michael Portanova (2020) ca3 “2015) (California Penal Code § 311.4(d)’s definition of “sexual conduct” “simply lists numerous ways in which an image may be considered to depict ‘sexual conduct’” and is thus not divisible)).”
State v. Johnson (2009) minnctapp “” CaLPenal Code § 311.4(d) (1994) (emphasis added).”
— Cal. Penal Code § 311.4(d)(1) — 1 case
Oscar Chavez Solis v. Loretta E. Lynch (2015)
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