WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

AB 1741

Sexual battery.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Blanca Pacheco

Expands sexual battery to cover entering an inhabited dwelling and then touching an intimate part against the victim’s will, with enhanced penalties.

Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
#sexualbattery
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · AB 1741

Overview

AB 1741 (2025-2026, California) expands the definition of sexual battery by adding the act of entering an inhabited dwelling and then touching an intimate part of another person against the other’s will for sexual arousal, gratification, or abuse. The bill treats this conduct as a misdemeanor or a felony (depending on circumstances). It also includes conforming amendments to related statutes and makes technical changes.

Purpose and intent

  • To address a broader set of wrongful sexual acts by including intrusions into an inhabited dwelling coupled with unwanted touching of an intimate part.
  • To provide additional criminal penalties for entering an inhabited dwelling with the intent to commit sexual battery.
  • To align related civil and criminal provisions to reinforce protections against sexual offenses in more contexts (e.g., psychotherapy-related restrictions, and civil/code definitions).

Key provisions and changes

  • Criminal definition expansion (Penal Code 243.4): Adds entering an inhabited dwelling and then touching an intimate part against the victim’s will for sexual arousal, gratification, or abuse. Punishments range from misdemeanor to felony depending on the specifics (e.g., entering an inhabited dwelling, house, trailer, or other building without consent leads to enhanced penalties).
    • Subsections (f) and (f)(2) establish penalties for entering an inhabited dwelling and touching an intimate part, with prison terms and fines up to $10,000. Felony penalties apply when the invasion involved entering a dwelling without consent and then committing sexual battery.
    • Subdivision (e)(1) retains existing misdemeanor sexual battery but adds enhanced penalties if the offender is an employer and the victim is an employee.
    • Subdivision (f) addresses aggravated circumstances for entering an inhabited dwelling and then committing sexual battery, with potential state prison terms or county jail terms and fines.
    • Definitions provided: “intimate part,” “touches,” “seriously disabled,” “medically incapacitated,” “institutionalized,” “minor.”
  • Civil Code and Behavioral Health provisions (Sections 43.93 of the Civil Code and related Business and Professions Code 728):
    • Maintains existing protections for psychotherapists and their clients; adds clarification around treatment contexts and the scope of “psychotherapy” and “therapeutic relationship.”
    • Reinforces that claims for sexual contact against a psychotherapist can be pursued under certain conditions, including during treatment or within two years after termination.
    • Emphasizes that evidence of a plaintiff’s sexual history is subject to narrow, court-ordered discovery in specific situations.
  • Reimbursements: The act states that no state reimbursement is required for local agencies for the new crime or changes (no new mandated costs).
  • Conforming changes: Aligns terminology and cross-references across Penal, Civil, and Business and Professions Code sections.

Who would be affected

  • Defendants who enter an inhabited dwelling without consent and commit sexual battery by touching an intimate part.
  • Individuals in protected settings when the offender is an employer and the victim is an employee (potential enhanced penalties).
  • Psychotherapists and their clients, to the extent the changes interact with civil claims related to sexual contact, deception, or the therapeutic relationship.
  • Local governments and law enforcement implementing these enhanced statutes (though the bill notes there is no additional reimbursable state mandate).

Procedural and timeline notes

  • Introduced February 5, 2026; amended and advanced through the California Legislature in 2026.
  • Action history shows readings and committee referrals through May 2026, with second and third readings and floor actions indicated.
  • Effective date would depend on the enrolled bill and signing, with standard implementation timelines typical for California criminal and civil provisions.

This summary emphasizes the bill’s main change: adding entering an inhabited dwelling with subsequent touching of an intimate part to the definition of sexual battery and specifying corresponding penalties, alongside related civil and professional conduct provisions.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.