California · Penal Code

PEN §266c: Every person who induces any other person to engage in sexual intercourse, sexual penetration, oral copulation, or sodomy when his or her consent is procured by false or fraudulent representation or p

Felony

What this law says, in plain English

A person who induces another to engage in sexual acts through false representation or pretense designed to create fear is punishable by imprisonment in county jail for up to one year or state prison for two to four years.

Read the full statutory text

Every person who induces any other person to engage in sexual intercourse, sexual penetration, oral copulation, or sodomy when his or her consent is procured by false or fraudulent representation or pretense that is made with the intent to create fear, and which does induce fear, and that would cause a reasonable person in like circumstances to act contrary to the person’s free will, and does cause the victim to so act, is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year or in the state prison for two, three, or four years. As used in this section, “fear” means the fear of physical injury or death to the person or to any relative of the person or member of the person’s family.

Verify at the official source: California legislative text

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This page is legal information, not legal advice. Code text is sourced from official publications and may lag amendments — always confirm at the official source linked above. Plain-English summaries and relationship data are AI-derived and reviewed on an ongoing basis; verify with a licensed attorney before acting.