People v. Olsen

685 P.2d 52, 36 Cal. 3d 638, 205 Cal. Rptr. 492, 1984 Cal. LEXIS 207

• Court: California Supreme Court
• Decided: August 23, 1984
• Docket: Crim. 23510
• Status: Published

Opinions

Opinion

BIRD, C. J.

Is a reasonable mistake as to the victim’s age a defense to a charge of lewd or lascivious conduct with a child under the age of 14 years (Pen. Code, § 288, subd. (a)¹)?

I.

In early June 1981, Shawn M. was 13 years and 10 months old. At that time, her parents were entertaining out-of-town guests. Since one of the visitors was using Shawn’s bedroom, Shawn suggested that she sleep in her family’s camper trailer which was parked in the driveway in front of the house. Shawn’s parents agreed to this arrangement on the condition that she keep the windows shut and the door locked.

On the night of June 3rd, Shawn’s father, who is partially blind, was awakened by the barking of the family’s three dogs. He went out the front door and heard male voices coming from the trailer. Mr. M. opened the door of the trailer and heard somebody remark about his presence. He then heard a male voice say, “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Mr. M. could see three persons on the bed. One of the males, appellant Edward Olsen, jumped off the bed and tried to get out the door. Mr. M. wrestled with him and held him around the throat. Appellant called for help. The other male, James Garcia, stabbed Mr. M. in the right shoulder. Both appellant and Garcia then ran away.

At trial, Shawn testified to the following events. On her third night in the trailer, she locked the door as instructed by her parents. She then fell asleep, but was awakened by appellant Olsen who was knocking on the window and asking to be let in. Shawn said nothing and appellant left. Approximately a half-hour later, Garcia came up to the window and asked if he could enter. Shawn did not respond so he left. Shortly thereafter, appellant returned and again asked to be allowed in. Shawn did not answer. After both appellant and Garcia left, Shawn went to sleep.

Shawn was then awakened by the sound of barking dogs and by Garcia, who had a knife by her side and his hand over her mouth.² Garcia called to appellant to come in, and appellant entered the trailer.

Garcia told Shawn to let appellant “make love” to her, or he—Garcia— would stab her. Garcia gave the knife to appellant who held it to Shawn’s neck and then gave it back to Garcia. Shawn asked Garcia to put the knife away and he complied.

Appellant and Garcia then removed Shawn’s nightgown and underpants. Garcia told her again to let appellant “make love” to her. Shawn refused. Garcia then took out his knife. Appellant proceeded to have sexual intercourse with Shawn for about 15 minutes. During this time, Garcia knelt on the bed and said nothing. While appellant was still having intercourse with Shawn, her father entered the trailer. Mr. M. grabbed appellant as he was trying to leave, and Garcia stabbed Mr. M. in order to free appellant.

Shawn testified that she knew Garcia “pretty well” and had known him for approximately one year. She had last seen him about four days before the incident. She also testified that she was very good friends “off and on” with appellant and that during one three-month period she spent almost every day at appellant’s house. At the time of the incident, however, Shawn considered Garcia her boyfriend.³

Finally, Shawn admitted that she told both Garcia and appellant that she was over 16 years old. She also conceded that she looked as if she were over 16.⁴

Garcia testified to quite a different set of events. He first met Shawn in the summer of 1980 when she introduced herself to him. On the afternoon of June 2, 1981—the day before the offense—Shawn invited him to spend the night in the trailer with her so that they could have sex. He and Shawn engaged in sexual intercourse about four times that evening. Shawn invited Garcia to come back the following night at midnight.

The next night, after two unsuccessful attempts to enter the trailer, Garcia and appellant were told by Shawn to return at midnight. Garcia knocked on the trailer door. Shawn, wearing only a pair of panties, opened the door and invited them in. She told them she wanted to “take both [of them] on.” She then told Garcia that she wanted “to make love” with appellant first. When Mr. M. entered the trailer, appellant was on top of Shawn. Garcia denied threatening Shawn with a knife, taking her nightgown off, breaking into the trailer or forcing her to have sex with them.⁵

At the conclusion of the trial, the court found⁶ Garcia and appellant guilty of violating section 288, subdivision (a).⁷ In reaching its decision, the court rejected defense counsel’s argument that a good faith belief as to the age of the victim was a defense to the section 288 charge. Appellant was sentenced to the lower term of three years in state prison. This appeal followed.⁸

Appellant’s sole contention on appeal is that a good faith, reasonable mistake of age is a defense to a section 288 charge.

II.

The language of section 288 is silent as to whether a good faith, reasonable mistake as to the victim’s age constitutes a defense to a charge under that statute. Resort is thus made to judicial decisions discussing the defense. Although this court has not considered the question, it has recognized a mistake of age defense in other contexts.

Twenty years ago, this court in People v. Hernandez (1964) 61 Cal.2d 529 [39 Cal.Rptr. 361, 393 P.2d 673, 8 A.L.R.3d 1092], overruled established precedent,⁹ and held that an accused’s good faith, reasonable belief that a victim was 18 years or more of age was a defense to a charge of statutory rape. (Id., at p. 536.)¹⁰

In Hernandez, the accused was charged with statutory rape¹¹ of a girl who was 17 years and 9 months old, and who had voluntarily engaged in an act of sexual intercourse. The trial court refused to allow the accused to present evidence of his good faith, reasonable belief that the prosecutrix was 18 or over. (61 Cal.2d at p. 530.) On appeal, this court held it reversible error to exclude such evidence. (Id., at pp. 535-536.)

The Hernandez court acknowledged that an accused possesses criminal intent when he acts without a belief that his victim is 18 or over. However, the court determined that if one engages in sexual intercourse with a female and reasonably believes she is 18 or over, then the essential element of criminal intent is missing. (Id., at pp. 534-536.)

Relying on sections 20¹² and 26¹³ and on People v. Vogel (1956) 46 Cal.2d 798 [299 P.2d 850], the court noted that it had recently “given recognition to the legislative declarations” in those two sections when it held in Vogel that a good faith belief that a previous marriage had been terminated was a valid defense to a charge of bigamy. (Hernandez, supra, 61 Cal.2d at p. 535.) The court stated, “the reluctance to accord to a charge of statutory rape the defense of a lack of criminal intent has no greater justification than in the case of other statutory crimes [such as bigamy], where the Legislature has made identical provision with respect to intent.” (Ibid.) Thus, “it cannot be a greater wrong to entertain a bona fide but erroneous belief that a valid consent to an act of sexual intercourse has been obtained.” (Ibid.) The court went on to hold that a charge of statutory rape is defensible where a criminal intent is lacking unless there is a “legislative direction otherwise.” (Id., at p. 536.)

The Hernandez court, however, cautioned that its holding was not “indicative of a withdrawal from the sound policy that it is in the public interest to protect the sexually naive female from exploitation. No responsible person would hesitate to condemn as untenable a claimed good faith belief in the age of consent of an ‘infant’ female whose obviously tender years preclude the existence of reasonable grounds for that belief.” (Ibid.) The court then concluded that there was nothing to indicate that “the purposes of the law [could] be better served by foreclosing the defense of a lack of intent.” (Ibid.)

One Court of Appeal has declined to apply Hernandez in an analogous context. In People v. Lopez (1969) 271 Cal.App.2d 754, 760-762 [77 Cal.Rptr. 59], certiorari denied, 396 U.S. 935 [24 L.Ed.2d 234, 90 S.Ct. 278], the court refused to recognize a reasonable mistake of age defense to a charge of offering or furnishing marijuana to a minor (former Health & Saf. Code, § 11532). The court noted that the act of furnishing marijuana is criminal regardless of the age of the recipient and that furnishing marijuana to a minor simply yields a greater punishment than when the substance is furnished to an adult. (Lopez, supra, 271 Cal.App.2d at pp. 760-761.) “[A] mistake of fact relating only to the gravity of an offense will not shield a deliberate offender from the full consequences of the wrong actually committed. [Citations.]” (Ibid.)14

In deciding whether to apply the philosophy of Hernandez to the offense of lewd or lascivious conduct with a child under the age of 14, this court is guided by decisions of the Courts of Appeal. The three post-Hernandez Court of Appeal decisions which have considered the issue have refused to apply Hernandez.¹⁵ (People v. Gutierrez (1978) 80 Cal.App.3d 829, 833-836 [145 Cal.Rptr. 823]; People v. Toliver (1969) 270 Cal.App.2d 492, 494-496 [75 Cal.Rptr. 819], cert. den., 396 U.S. 895 [24 L.Ed.2d 172, 90 S.Ct. 193]; People v. Tober (1966) 241 Cal.App.2d 66, 72-73 [50 Cal.Rptr. 228].)

In People v. Tober, supra, 241 Cal.App.2d 66, 67, the accused was convicted of lewd or lascivious acts on the body of a 10-year-old child. On appeal, the court rejected the premise that lewd or lascivious acts on a 10-year-old child “may be indulged in under a claimed good faith belief that the child is either an adult or has reached the age of 14 years.” (Id., at p. 73.) The Court of Appeal explained that “[t]he very refusal to distinguish between a child of tender years and an adult may be said to be characteristic of some of those who engage in the sort of conduct of which defendant has been convicted.” (Ibid.) The court refused to apply Hernandez to section 288 cases, relying on that court’s caution that a good faith, mistaken belief as to age is untenable when the victim involved is of “‘tender years.’” (Ibid., quoting Hernandez, supra, 61 Cal.2d at p. 536.)

People v. Toliver, supra, 270 Cal.App.2d 492, also rejected the Hernandez rule in the section 288 context. The court first observed that “the philosophy applying to violations of [section 288] is entirely different from that applying to [unlawful sexual intercourse].” (270 Cal.App.2d at p. 495.)

As Toliver explained, Hernandez “in effect considered that section 288 is for protection of infants or children as to whom persons commit lewd and lascivious acts at their peril.” (270 Cal.App.2d at p. 496.) Hernandez points out that consent can be an element of statutory rape, since a male may reasonably believe that a female is older than 18 and, therefore, can consent to an act of intercourse. (Ibid.) “On the other hand, [a] violation of section 288 does not involve consent of any sort, thereby placing the public policies underlying it and statutory rape on different footings.” (Ibid.) The court also found it significant that the Legislature provided harsher penalties for violating section 288 than for statutory rape. (Ibid.)

The Toliver court noted that “[u]nder the Roman and common laws, childhood was considered to exist until puberty, which was determined to be at age 14. ...” (270 Cal.App.2d at p. 496, citation omitted.) While recognizing that some females reach puberty below the age of 14, the court noted that there was “no reason why the distinction between a child and a more mature person should not continue to be held at that age.” (Ibid.)

Another justification for its conclusion was found in a draft of the Penal Code Revision Project. (Ibid.) That project had proposed that a reasonable belief that a child is 14 or older is no defense to sex offenses where the crime involves a victim younger than 14. (Joint Legis. Com. for Revision of Pen. Code (Pen. Code Revision Proj. Ten. Draft No. 1, Sept. 1967) § 1600, subd. (4),¹⁶ p. 61.)

Finally, there is People v. Gutierrez, supra, 80 Cal.App.3d 829, the most recent California decision rejecting the reasonable mistake of age defense to a charge of lewd or lascivious conduct. The Gutierrez court relied heavily on the principles articulated in Toliver and Tober. “[T]he public policy considerations relied upon in [those cases] have not ceased to exist and their rationale is still sound . . . .” (Gutierrez, supra, 80 Cal.App.3d at p. 835.)

The reasoning of the Tober, Toliver and Gutierrez courts is persuasive. There exists a strong public policy to protect children of tender years. As Gutierrez indicates, section 288 was enacted for that very purpose. (See id., at p. 835; see also People v. Kingston (1974) 44 Cal.App.3d 629, 635 [118 Cal.Rptr. 896].) Furthermore, even the Hernandez court recognized this important policy when it made clear that it did not contemplate applying the mistake of age defense in cases where the victim is of “tender years.” (Hernandez, supra, 61 Cal.2d at p. 536; see ante, at p. 644.)

Moreover, other language in Hernandez strongly suggests that a reasonable mistake as to age would not be a defense to a section 288 charge. As Hernandez noted, when People v. Ratz, supra, 115 Cal. 132 was decided, an accused could be convicted of statutory rape only if the victim were under 14. Hernandez also found it “noteworthy that the purpose of the rule [announced in Ratz] was to afford protection to young females therein described as ‘infants.’” (Hernandez, supra, 61 Cal.2d at p. 533.) Thus, an “infant” at the time of Ratz was any child under 14. The Hernandez court’s use of that term, therefore, evidenced a belief that a mistake of age defense would be untenable when the offense involved a child that young.

The language in Hernandez, together with the reasoning in Tober, Toliver and Gutierrez, compel the conclusion that a reasonable mistake as to the victim’s age is not a defense to a section 288 charge.

This conclusion is supported by the Legislature’s enactment of section 1203.066. (Stats. 1981, ch. 1064, § 4, pp. 4095-4096.) Subdivision (a)(3) of that statute renders certain individuals convicted of lewd or lascivious conduct who “honestly and reasonably believed the victim was 14 years old or older” eligible for probation.¹⁷ The Legislature’s enactment of section 1203.066, subdivision (a)(3), in the face of a corresponding failure to amend section 288 to provide for a reasonable mistake of age defense,¹⁸ strongly indicates that the Legislature did not intend such a defense to a section 288 charge. (See Estate of McDill (1975) 14 Cal.3d 831, 837-838 [122 Cal.Rptr. 754, 537 P.2d 874],¹⁹) To recognize such a defense would render section 1203.066, subdivision (a)(3) a nullity, since the question of probation for individuals who had entertained an honest and reasonable belief in the victim’s age would never arise. It is well established that courts are “exceedingly reluctant to attach an interpretation to a particular statute which renders other existing provisions unnecessary.” (Bowland v. Municipal Court (1976) 18 Cal.3d 479, 489 [134 Cal.Rptr. 630, 556 P.2d 1081].)

Other legislative provisions also support the holding that a reasonable mistake of age is not a defense to a section 288 charge. Time and again, the Legislature has recognized that persons under 14 years of age are in need of special protection. This is particularly evident from the provisions of section 26. That statute creates a rebuttable presumption that children under the age of 14 are incapable of knowing the wrongfulness of their actions and, therefore, are incapable of committing a crime.²⁰ A fortiori, when the child is a victim, rather than an accused, similar “special protection,” not given to older teenagers, should be afforded. By its very terms, section 288 furthers that goal.

The Legislature has also determined that persons who commit sexual offenses on children under the age of 14 should be punished more severely than those who commit such offenses on children under the age of 18. For example, sodomy or oral copulation with a person under 18 is punishable by a maximum of one year in county jail or three years in state prison. (§§ 286, subd. (b)(1), 288a, subd. (b)(1).) On the other hand, such conduct with a child under 14 is made punishable by a maximum state prison sentence of eight years. (§§ 286, subd. (c), 288a, subd. (c).) These differences in punishment support the view that children under the age of 14 are given special protection under our laws.

Other provisions of the Penal Code also demonstrate this public policy. For example, section 271 punishes desertion of a child under 14 years of age.²¹ Section 271a makes it a crime to abandon, fail or refuse to maintain a minor child under the age of 14 years.²²

It is significant that a violation of section 288 carries a much harsher penalty than does unlawful sexual intercourse (§ 261.5), the crime involved in Hernandez. Section 261.5 carries a maximum punishment of one year in the county jail or three years in state prison (§ 264), while section 288 carries a maximum penalty of eight years in state prison. The different penalties for these two offenses further supports the view that there exists a strong public policy to protect children under 14.

In recent years, the Legislature has increased the state prison sentence for violations of section 288 without increasing the punishment for unlawful sexual intercourse. In 1978, the penalty for section 288 was increased from three, four or five years to three, five or seven years. (Stats. 1978, ch. 579, § 17, p. 1984.) In 1981, the punishment was increased to the present three-, six- or eight-year term. (Stats. 1981, ch. 1064, § 1, p. 4093.) During this same period, the penalty for a violation of section 261.5 has remained constant. (§ 264.)

It is true that at common law ‘““an honest and reasonable belief in the existence of circumstances, which, if true, would make the act for which the person is indicted an innocent act, has always been held to be a good defense.” ’ ” (Hernandez, supra, 61 Cal.2d at pp. 535-536, citation omitted.) However, it is evident that the public policy considerations in protecting children under the age of 14 from lewd or lascivious conduct are substantial—far more so than those associated with unlawful sexual intercourse. These strong public policies are reflected in several Penal Code statutes, and they compel a different rule as to section 288.

The legislative purpose of section 288 would not be served by recognizing a defense of reasonable mistake of age. Thus, one who commits lewd or lascivious acts with a child, even with a good faith belief that the child is 14 years of age or older, does so at his or her peril.

III.

The trial court properly rejected appellant’s claim that his good faith, reasonable mistake as to the victim’s age was a defense to a lewd or lascivious conduct charge with a child under 14 years of age. Accordingly, the judgment of conviction is affirmed.

Mosk, J., Kaus, J., Broussard, J., Reynoso, J., and Lucas, J., concurred.

1 Section 288, subdivision (a) provides in relevant part: “Any person who shall willfully and lewdly commit any lewd or lascivious act . . . upon or with the body, or any part or member thereof, of a child under the age of 14 years, with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust or passions or sexual desires of such person or of such child, shall be guilty of a felony and shall be imprisoned in the state prison for a term of three, six, or eight years.”

All statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise noted.

2 Although Shawn testified she locked the trailer door, she failed to explain how Garcia entered the trailer. A subsequent examination of the trailer revealed that there were no signs of a forced entry.

3 Shawn admitted that she had engaged in intercourse before the night of June 3rd, but denied having any such prior experience with either Garcia or appellant. However, she did admit having had sexual relations, short of intercourse, with both of them in the past.

4 Patricia Alvarez, a police officer, testified that appellant told her that he thought Shawn was 17.

5 Appellant’s sister corroborated Shawn’s testimony that Shawn made daily visits to the Olsen home during a three-month period. She testified that during these visits Shawn and appellant would go into the latter’s bedroom and close the door. On one occasion, appellant’s sister saw the two in bed together. On several occasions, his sister entered the bedroom after Shawn had left and noticed the bedcovers “messed up” and an odor which she associated with sex.

Appellant’s next-door neighbor testified that he often encountered appellant and Shawn emerging from appellant’s bedroom in the morning.

Joseph W., Garcia’s 16-year-old friend who also knew Shawn, testified that he and Chuck A., a 15-year-old neighbor, had simultaneously gone to bed with Shawn on two occasions. On one of the occasions, Chuck’s father caught them in bed and ordered Shawn out of the house. Both Chuck and his father corroborated Joseph’s testimony.

6 Appellant had waived jury trial on the condition that if convicted, he would be sentenced to no more than five years in state prison.

7 Garcia was also found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon (§ 245, subd. (a)) with infliction of great bodily injury. (§ 12022.7.) Both Garcia and appellant were found not guilty of burglary (§ 459), forcible rape (§ 261, subd. (2)), and lewd or lascivious acts upon a child under the age of 14 by use of force (§ 288, subd. (b)). Appellant was also found not guilty of assault with a deadly weapon. (§ 245, subd. (a).)

8 Garcia did not appeal.

9 People v. Ratz (1896) 115 Cal. 132 [46 P. 915] (accused’s good faith, mistaken belief as to the victim’s age is no defense to statutory rape) and People v. Griffin (1897) 117 Cal. 583 [49 P. 711] (accused’s unawareness as to the victim’s mental condition which makes her incapable of giving legal consent is no defense to rape).

10 One commentator believes that Hernandez marked a clear break from the “universally accepted view of the courts in this country.” (Annot., Mistake or Lack of Information as to Victim’s Age as Defense to Statutory Rape (1966) 8 A.L.R.3d 1100, 1102-1105, and cases cited.) The view that mistake of age is not a defense to a charge of statutory rape still prevails in the overwhelming majority of jurisdictions. (See ibid., and later cases (1983 pocket supp.) pp. 72-73.)

11 When Hernandez was decided, statutory rape was defined in section 261, subdivision 1. A 1970 amendment recodified subdivision 1 as section 261.5 (unlawful sexual intercourse). (Stats. 1970, ch. 1301, §§ 1 & 2, pp. 2405-2406.)

Section 261.5 provides: “Unlawful sexual intercourse is an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a female not the wife of the perpetrator, where the female is under the age of 18 years.”

12 Section 20 provides: “In every crime or public offense there must exist a union, or joint operation of act and intent, or criminal negligence.”

13 Section 26 provides in relevant part: “All persons are capable of committing crimes except those belonging to the following classes: . . . [f] Three—Persons who committed the act or made the omission charged under an ignorance or mistake of fact, which disproves any criminal intent. ”

14 On the other hand, Hernandez has been extended to some offenses involving children. For example, in People v. Atchison (1978) 22 Cal.3d 181 [148 Cal.Rptr. 881, 583 P.2d 735], this court apparently concluded that a reasonable mistake as to the victim’s age was a defense to the charges of annoying or molesting a child under the age of 18 (§ 647a) and contributing to the delinquency of a child under the age of 18. (§ 272.) In People v. Peterson (1981) 126 Cal.App.3d 396 [178 Cal.Rptr. 734], the Court of Appeal held the defense applicable to a charge of oral copulation with a person under 18. (§ 288a, subd. (b)(1).) Most recently, a mistake of age defense was recognized in a case involving the inducement of a minor to use a narcotic drug (Health & Saf. Code, § 11353) and marijuana (Health & Saf. Code, § 11361). (People v. Goldstein (1982) 130 Cal.App.3d 1024, 1035-1037 [182 Cal.Rptr. 207].) It is significant for our purposes that none of these offenses involved children under the age of 14.

15 There appears to be only one pre-Hernandez section 288 case which has considered the issue. In People v. Clark (1953) 117 Cal.App.2d 134, 142 [255 P.2d 79], the trial court instructed the jury that it was immaterial that an accused believed that the victim was over 14. Without determining whether a reasonable, but mistaken belief as to age was a defense to a section 288 charge, the Court of Appeal simply concluded that there was no prejudice under the circumstances. (Id., at p. 143.)

16 Subdivision (4) provided: “Whenever in this chapter the criminality of conduct depends on a child’s being below the age of fourteen, it is no defense that the actor reasonably believed the child to be fourteen or older. Whenever in this chapter the criminality of conduct depends on a child’s being below a specified age older than fourteen it is an affirmative defense that the actor reasonably believed the child to be of that age or above.”

The tentative draft was never enacted into law.

17 Section 1203.066, subdivision (a)(3) provides: “(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 1203, probation shall not be granted to, nor shall the execution or imposition of sentence be suspended for, nor shall a finding bringing the defendant within the provision of this section be stricken pursuant to Section 1385 for any of the following persons: . . . [H] (3) A person convicted of a violation of Section 288 and who was a stranger to the child victim or made friends with the child victim for the purpose of committing an act in violation of Section 288, unless the defendant honestly and reasonably believed the victim was 14 years old or older.”

18 In the same legislation which enacted section 1203.066, section 288 was amended to increase the penalty for a violation of that statute. (Stats. 1981, ch. 1064, § 1, p. 4093.)

19 “It is assumed that the Legislature has in mind existing laws when it passes a statute. [Citations.] ‘The failure of the Legislature to change the law in a particular respect when the subject is generally before it and changes in other respects are made is indicative of an intent to leave the law as it stands in the aspects not amended.’ [Citations.]” (Estate of McDill, supra, 14 Cal.3d at pp. 837-838.)

20 Section 26 provides in relevant part: “All persons are capable of committing crimes except those belonging to the following classes: fl|] One—Children under the age of 14, in the absence of clear proof that at the time of committing the act charged against them, they knew its wrongfulness.’’

21 Section 271 provides: “Every parent of any child under the age of 14 years, and every person to whom any such child has been confided for nurture, or education, who deserts such child in any place whatever with intent to abandon it, is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison or in the county jail not exceeding one year or by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by both.”

22 Section 271a provides: “Every person who knowingly and willfully abandons, or who, having ability so to do, fails or refuses to maintain his or her minor child under the age of 14 years, or who falsely, knowing the same to be false, represents to any manager, officer or agent of any orphan asylum or charitable institution for the care of orphans, that any child for whose admission into such asylum or institution application has been made is an orphan, is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison, or in the county jail not exceeding one year, or by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both.”