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CRIMINAL LAW BLOG

Is Car Sex Illegal?

Posted by Dmitry Gorin | Jul 20, 2024

You are allowed to have sex in your vehicle, but you must know the law that might apply to your situation. Typically, it is illegal to have sex in a public place if a reasonable person believes that somebody will see them.

Thus, if you do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy and you decide to have sex in your car, you could face criminal charges.

Is Car Sex Illegal?
California has no laws explicitly prohibiting having sex in a car, but you can still face charges.

Conversely, if you are having sex in your car, and a reasonable person believes they are in private, you will not likely face charges or be convicted of any crime.

Common sense generally rules when deciding public and private, but let's examine some applicable laws.

In the simplest of terms, in California, there is no specific law prohibiting having sex in your car. However, you can still face criminal charges in some situations. Any sexual acts in a vehicle can violate several different laws.

People engaging in sexual activity in a car is not noteworthy news, but the question of whether it's legal is often debated. The simple answer as to whether it's considered illegal in California is that it depends on the details, such as where you were parked and whether your sexual acts were in public view.

California Penal Code 647 PC says, "An individual who solicits anyone to engage in or who engages in lewd or dissolute conduct in any public place or any place open to the public or exposed to public view" is guilty of misdemeanor disorderly conduct."

"Lewd and dissolute conduct" is described as any behavior where a person's breasts or genitals are exposed to public view. It can also include grabbing a woman's breasts or a man's penis over their clothes while having sex in a car within public view. Let's discuss this topic further below.

Sex in a Vehicle - Quick Facts

  • Public masturbation in your vehicle is also against the law, regardless of whether you remain fully clothed.
  • Public sex often includes sexual intercourse and oral copulation.
  • You cannot legally have sex in your car if it's parked in a public place where people might see you engaging in "public sex."
  • It's illegal to have sex in a car parked on private property if people in a public place can still see you.
  • If you have sex in your car while parked in a city park, you may face disorderly conduct charges.
  • Public places include streets, alleys, parking lots, shopping malls, beaches, and any place open to the general public.
  • While many parking lots are privately owned, it does not mean you can have sex in your car while parked there because you might still be visible to the general public.

What is "Public Visibility"

As noted, the main factor that can turn sex in a car into a criminal matter is whether it occurs in public view. If the vehicle is parked on private property with consent and you are not visible to others, you are not breaking any laws by having sex in a car.

However, public sex can violate many statutes in California. If the sex occurs in a public area or where others can see you, it can result in criminal charges, even though you are inside a vehicle.

Lewd conduct in public is defined as when somebody touches their private parts, or those of a person, for sexual gratification, and they do so when they know, or should have known, that there are people present who could be offended by the touching. "Private parts" means the genitals, the buttocks, or the female breast.

Depending on the case details, you could potentially be charged with the following California crimes:

As noted, whether or not sex is considered a public act should depend on some common sense. Sexual or lewd acts will be considered public if they occur in a car in a parking lot or public city park and are visible to people passing by.

What About Prostitution Laws?

Having sex in a vehicle with a prostitute can result in criminal charges. California law makes it a crime to either engage in acts of prostitution or solicit it.

"Soliciting" means requesting, encouraging, or attempting to pay for acts of prostitution. The related sex crimes include the following:

If you engage in sex in a vehicle in the wrong place, you can be exposed to one or more of these crimes. Sometimes, if convicted, you may be required to register as a sex offender.

What Are the Possible Charges for Car Sex?

If you are arrested for having sex in a vehicle in public view, you could face different criminal charges based on the specific details, such as the following crimes:

  • Penal Code 647(a) PC Lewd Conduct in Public. This law prohibits engaging in the act of lewd or dissolute conduct in a public place, such as touching someone's private parts or your own, for the purposes of sexual gratification or arousal. This law is the most commonly charged crime for having public car sex.
  • Penal Code 647(b) PC Solicitation of Prostitution. This law prohibits sexual services in exchange for money or other compensation. If police believe that the sex act in the car was part of such an exchange, you could be charged with solicitation or prostitution.
  • Penal Code 314 PC Indecent Exposure. This law prohibits intentionally exposing your private parts. It means deliberately exposing your genitals in a public area or any place where someone might be offended or annoyed by such behavior.
  • Penal Code 415 PC Disturbing the Peace. This law prohibits you from engaging in loud, unreasonable, or offensive behavior to others in public.

What Are the Potential Penalties?

Most charges related to having sex in a car are misdemeanors that carry the following punishments:

  • Up to six months in county jail.
  • A fine of up to $1,000.
  • Judges typically impose probation only rather than jail time.
  • Some sex crimes, such as indecent exposure and lewd conduct, can result in registration as a tier-one sex offender under California Penal Code 290 PC for at least ten years.

Sex offender registration means you would be required to annually renew your information with the local police station every year within five days of your birthday and five days of moving to another residence. Registered sex offenders often have restrictions on where they can live and work.

What are the Possible Defenses?

If you are facing criminal charges related to public car sex, our California criminal defense attorneys can use different strategies, such as the following:

  • Not in public view. If your vehicle was parked in a public area, but nobody could see the sex acts, then this can be used as a complete defense to get the charges reduced or dismissed.
  • No willful intent. Maybe we can argue that any exposure was not deliberate and was meant to remain private, but you would have to demonstrate you had no intent for your sex acts to be viewed publicly.
  • Private property. We could argue that your vehicle was on private property and obstructed from public view.

Contact our law firm for more information. Eisner Gorin LLP is based in Los Angeles, CA.

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About the Author

Dmitry Gorin

Dmitry Gorin is a State-Bar Certified Criminal Law Specialist, who has been involved in criminal trial work and pretrial litigation since 1994. Before becoming partner in Eisner Gorin LLP, Mr. Gorin was a Senior Deputy District Attorney in Los Angeles Courts for more than ten years. As a criminal tri...

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