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Lewd or Lascivious Battery

The term “lewd or lascivious battery” refers to an allegation that an adult engaged in sexual activity with a minor child that is older than 12 but younger than 16. In other words, the offense is a strict liability crime even if the child did not resist or misrepresent his or her age. In certain cases, false allegations can occur for a variety of reasons. Related offenses include child molestation and sexual battery. 

Lewd or Lascivious Battery Defense Lawyer in Brooksville

If you are charged with lewd or lascivious battery in Brooksville, Hernando County, Florida, or the surrounding areas of Pasco County, Sumter County, or Citrus County, then contact an experienced criminal defense attorney at The Law Office of Ashley Aulls, P.A.. Your attorney must thoroughly investigate the facts of the case. Aggressive and experienced representation is required for any individual falsely accused of this serious crime. Call (352) 593-4115 today to discuss your case.

Inormation on Lewd or Lascivious Battery in Florida

Elements of Lewd or Lascivious Battery

Florida Statute Section 800.04(4) provides for two different alternative ways of proving the crime of Lewd or Lascivious Battery including:

  • Engages in sexual activity with a child older than 12, but younger than 16; or
  • Encourages, forces, or entices a child older than 12, but younger than 16, to engage in sexual activity such as sadomasochistic abuse, prostitution, or any other act involving sexual activity.

Penalties for Lewd and Lascivious Battery

Lewd and Lascivious Battery under Florida Statute Section 800.04(4) is a second degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Additionally, the person would be declared a sexual offender which would require a lifetime of complying with the sexual offender registration requirements in Florida.

Lewd and Lascivious Battery is a classified as a Level 8 offense under Florida’s Criminal Punishment Code. As such, the bottom of the guidelines is a minimum of 34.5 months in prison. For individuals that enter a guilty or no content plea to the charges, deviating under the minimum prison sentence is rare and requires a showing of certain mitigating factors.

Difference Between Sexual Battery and Lewd or Lascivious

Sexual battery is a first degree felony punishable by up to 30 years (or is punishable by life in prison under some circumstance). On the other hand, lewd or lascivious battery is a second degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The issue of consent is the most important difference between the criminal charge of sexual battery and lewd or lascivious battery. Sexual battery occurs when one person forces the other person to engage in a sex act without consent. On the other hand, in lewd and lascivious battery cases, the contact is illegal regardless of whether it was consensual or not.

If the sexual activity occured with a child under the age of 12, the charges are filed as sexual battery instead of lewd and lascivious because the law deems children under 12 years of age to be incapable of consenting to sexual activity.

Other Types of Lewd and Lascivious Charges in Florida

Related offenses of lewd and lascivious battery include:

  • Lewd and Lascivious Molestation under Florida Statute Section 800.04(5);
  • Lewd and Lascivious Conduct under Florida Statute Section 800.04(6);
  • Lewd and Lascivious Exhibition in the Presence of a Child under Florida Statute Section 800.04(7)(a);
  • Lewd and Lascivious Exhibition Over Computer Service under Florida Statute § 847.0135(5);
  • Lewd and Lascivious Exhibition by a Detainee in the Presence of an Employee of a Facility under Florida Statute § 800.09; or
  • Lewd and Lascivious Offenses Committed Upon or in the Presence of an Elderly or Disabled Person under Florida Statute § 825.1025.

Finding an Attorney for Lewd and Lascivious Defense

If you are charged with lewd and lascivious battery charges then contact an experienced criminal defense attorney in Brooksville, Hernando County, FL. Attorney Ashley Aulls also represents clients on sexually motivated crimes throughout the Fifth Judicial Circuit including Hernando County, Inverness in Citrus County, and Bushnell in Sumter County, FL.