Pen. Code, § 11165.1 · Article 2.5. Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act
Pen. Code, § 11165.1
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
As used in this article, “sexual abuse” means sexual assault or sexual exploitation as defined by the following:
(a) “Sexual assault” means conduct in violation of one or more of the following sections: Section 261 (rape), subdivision (d) of Section 261.5 (statutory rape), Section 264.1 (rape in concert), Section 285 (incest), Section 286 (sodomy), Section 287 or former Section 288a (oral copulation), subdivision (a) or (b) of, or paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of, Section 288 (lewd or lascivious acts upon a child), Section 289 (sexual penetration), or Section 647.6 (child molestation). “Sexual assault” for the purposes of this article does not include voluntary conduct in violation of Section 286, 287, or 289, or former Section 288a, if there are no indicators of abuse, unless the conduct is between a person 21 years of age or older and a minor who is under 16 years of age.
(b) Conduct described as “sexual assault” includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Penetration, however slight, of the vagina or anal opening of one person by the penis of another person, whether or not there is the emission of semen.
(2) Sexual contact between the genitals or anal opening of one person and the mouth or tongue of another person.
(3) Intrusion by one person into the genitals or anal opening of another person, including the use of an object for this purpose, except that, it does not include acts performed for a valid medical purpose.
(4) The intentional touching of the genitals or intimate parts, including the breasts, genital area, groin, inner thighs, and buttocks, or the clothing covering them, of a child, or of the perpetrator by a child, for purposes of sexual arousal or gratification, except that it does not include acts which may reasonably be construed to be normal caretaker responsibilities; interactions with, or demonstrations of affection for, the child; or acts performed for a valid medical purpose.
(5) The intentional masturbation of the perpetrator’s genitals in the presence of a child.
(c) “Sexual exploitation” refers to any of the following:
(1) Conduct involving matter depicting a minor engaged in obscene acts in violation of Section 311.2 (preparing, selling, or distributing obscene matter) or subdivision (a) of Section 311.4 (employment of minor to perform obscene acts).
(2) A person who knowingly promotes, aids, or assists, employs, uses, persuades, induces, or coerces a child, or a person responsible for a child’s welfare, who knowingly permits or encourages a child to engage in, or assist others to engage in, prostitution or a live performance involving obscene sexual conduct, or to either pose or model alone or with others for purposes of preparing a film, photograph, negative, slide, drawing, painting, or other pictorial depiction, involving obscene sexual conduct. For the purpose of this section, “person responsible for a child’s welfare” means a parent, guardian, foster parent, or a licensed administrator or employee of a public or private residential home, residential school, or other residential institution.
(3) A person who depicts a child in, or who knowingly develops, duplicates, prints, downloads, streams, accesses through any electronic or digital media, or exchanges, a film, photograph, videotape, video recording, negative, or slide in which a child is engaged in an act of obscene sexual conduct, except for those activities by law enforcement and prosecution agencies and other persons described in subdivisions (c) and (e) of Section 311.3.
(d) “Commercial sexual exploitation” refers to either of the following:
(1) The sexual trafficking of a child, as described in subdivision (c) of Section 236.1.
(2) The provision of food, shelter, or payment to a child in exchange for the performance of any sexual act described in this section or subdivision (c) of Section 236.1.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 2020, Ch. 180, Sec. 1. (AB 1145) Effective January 1, 2021.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=11165.1.
- Text hash
- sha256 1bafadd95d00fcd1c4f6b7ba349a63750e80af08561ff58157544c84c5e5e658
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Penal Code
- Pen. Code, § 236.1Printed as Section 236.1
- Pen. Code, § 261Printed as Section 261 (rape)
- Pen. Code, § 261.5Printed as Section 261.5
- Pen. Code, § 264.1Printed as Section 264.1
- Pen. Code, § 285Printed as Section 285
- Pen. Code, § 286Printed as Section 286 | Section 286, 287, or 289
- Pen. Code, § 287Printed as Section 286, 287, or 289 | Section 287
- Pen. Code, § 288Printed as Section 288
- Pen. Code, § 289Printed as Section 286, 287, or 289 | Section 289
- Pen. Code, § 311.2Printed as Section 311.2
- Pen. Code, § 311.3Printed as Section 311.3
- Pen. Code, § 311.4Printed as Section 311.4
- Pen. Code, § 647.6Printed as Section 647.6
Cited by 23 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Pen. Code, § 11165.1. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Code of Civil Procedure
Evidence Code
Government Code
Health and Safety Code
Penal Code
- Pen. Code, § 801.8Printed as Section 11165.1
- Pen. Code, § 859bPrinted as Section 11165.1
- Pen. Code, § 1048.1Printed as Section 11165.1
- Pen. Code, § 1050Printed as Section 11165.1
- Pen. Code, § 1203.1gPrinted as Section 11165.1
- Pen. Code, § 11165.5Printed as Section 11165.1
- Pen. Code, § 11165.6Printed as Section 11165.1
- Pen. Code, § 11165.7Printed as Section 11165.1
- Pen. Code, § 11166Printed as Section 11165.1
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.