Pen. Code, § 286 · Chapter 5. Bigamy, Incest, and the Crime Against Nature
Pen. Code, § 286
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
(a) Sodomy is sexual conduct consisting of contact between the penis of one person and the anus of another person. Any sexual penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete the crime of sodomy.
(b) (1) Except as provided in Section 288, any person who participates in an act of sodomy 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 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 sodomy with another person who is under 16 years of age shall be guilty of a felony.
(c) (1) Any person who participates in an act of sodomy 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 sodomy 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 sodomy with another 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 9, 11, or 13 years.
(C) Any person who commits an act of sodomy with another person who is a minor 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 7, 9, or 11 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 sodomy 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 aiding and abetting that other person, commits an act of sodomy 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 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 five, seven, or nine years.
(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 sodomy 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 sodomy 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 7, 9, or 11 years.
(4) This subdivision 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 sodomy with any person of any age 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 not more than one year.
(f) Any person who commits an act of sodomy, 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 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 sexual penetration served a professional purpose when it served no professional purpose.
(g) Except as provided in subdivision (h), a person who commits an act of sodomy, 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 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 sodomy, 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 not more than one year. Notwithstanding the existence of a conservatorship pursuant to 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 sodomy, where the victim is prevented from resisting by an 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 three, six, or eight years.
(j) Any person who commits an act of sodomy, 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 three, six, or eight years.
(k) Any person who commits an act of sodomy, 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 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 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, however, shall 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 and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 259, Sec. 2. (AB 65) Effective September 9, 2013.
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=286.
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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
Cited by 90 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Pen. Code, § 286; the first 50 in book order. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Code of Civil Procedure
Health and Safety Code
Military and Veterans Code
Penal Code
- Pen. Code, § 136.7Printed as Section 243.4, 261, 261.5, 264.1, 266, 266a, 266b, 266c, 266f, 285, 286, 287, 288, or 289
- Pen. Code, § 189Printed as Section 206, 286, 287, 288, or 289
- Pen. Code, § 190.2Printed as Section 286
- Pen. Code, § 261.6Printed as Section 261, 286, 287, or 289
- Pen. Code, § 261.7Printed as Section 261, 286, 287, or 289
- Pen. Code, § 264.2Printed as Section 261, 261.5, 273.5, 286, 287, or 289 | Section 261, 261.5, 286, 287, or 289
- Pen. Code, § 269Printed as Section 286
- Pen. Code, § 288.3Printed as Section 207, 209, 261, 264.1, 273a, 286, 287, 288, 288.2, 289, 311.1, 311.2, 311.4 or 311.11
- Pen. Code, § 289.6Printed as Section 286
- Pen. Code, § 290Printed as Section 261, 286, 287, 288, or 289 | Section 266j, 267, 269, 285, 286, 287, 288, 288.3, 288.4, 288.5, 288.7, 289, or 311.1 | Section 286 | Section 286, 287, 288, or 289
- Pen. Code, § 290.005Printed as Section 286
- Pen. Code, § 290.008Printed as Section 261, 286, 287, 288, or 289 | Section 286
- Pen. Code, § 290.019Printed as Section 286
- Pen. Code, § 290.46Printed as Section 261, 286, 287, 288, or 289 | Section 286 | Section 286, 287, 288, or 289
- Pen. Code, § 292Printed as Section 286
- Pen. Code, § 294Printed as Section 261, 264.1, 285, 286, 287, or 289
- Pen. Code, § 645Printed as Section 286
- Pen. Code, § 647.6Printed as Section 261, 264.1, 269, 285, 286, 287, 288.5, or 289
- Pen. Code, § 667Printed as Section 286
- Pen. Code, § 667.5Printed as Section 286
- Pen. Code, § 667.51Printed as Section 261, 264.1, 269, 285, 286, 287, 288, 288.5, or 289
- Pen. Code, § 667.6Printed as Section 286
- Pen. Code, § 667.61Printed as Section 286
- Pen. Code, § 667.71Printed as Section 286
- Pen. Code, § 667.8Printed as Section 261, 264.1, 286, 287, or 289 | Section 286
- Pen. Code, § 667.9Printed as Section 286
- Pen. Code, § 674Printed as Section 261, 285, 286, 287, 288, or 289
- Pen. Code, § 675Printed as Section 286
- Pen. Code, § 679.02Printed as Section 261, 286, 287, 288, or 289 | Section 286
- Pen. Code, § 680Printed as Section 261, 261.5, 286, 287, or 289
- Pen. Code, § 799Printed as Section 286
- Pen. Code, § 801.1Printed as Section 261, 286, 287, 288, 288.5, or 289
- Pen. Code, § 803Printed as Section 261, 286, 287, 288, 288.5, or 289
- Pen. Code, § 868.5Printed as Section 211, 215, 220, 236.1, 240, 242, 243.4, 245, 261, 266, 266a, 266b, 266c, 266d, 266e, 266f, 266g, 266h, 266i, 266j, 266k, 267, 269, 273a, 273d, 273.5, 273.6, 278, 278.5, 285, 286, 287, 288, 288.
- Pen. Code, § 868.8Printed as Section 220, 236.1, 243.4, 261, 269, 273a, 273d, 285, 286, 287, 288, 288.5, 288.7, or 289
- Pen. Code, § 939.21Printed as Section 243.4, 261, 273a, 273d, 285, 286, 287, 288, 288.5, or 289
- Pen. Code, § 999lPrinted as Section 286
- Pen. Code, § 1048Printed as Section 261, 264.1, 273a, 273d, 285, 286, 287, 288, or 289
- Pen. Code, § 1170.12Printed as Section 286
- Pen. Code, § 1170.9Printed as Section 286
- Pen. Code, § 1192.5Printed as Section 286 or 287
- Pen. Code, § 1202.05Printed as Section 261, 264.1, 266c, 285, 286, 287, 288, 288.5, or 289 | Section 261, 264.1, 266c, 285, 286, 288, 288.5, or 289
- Pen. Code, § 1202.1Printed as Section 266c or 286
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