Certain Juvenile Sex Offenses Can Bar a Petition to Seal Juvenile Record
California Welfare and Institutions Code section 782 permits the Juvenile Court to dismiss a juvenile adjudication at any time, even after the court has found the person a ward of the court. After dismissal, the charges will be set aside. This is a valuable tool that a juvenile or former juvenile can use to begin to clean a juvenile criminal record. It applies to any offense, even those that require sex offender registration under Penal Code section 290.
Despite the positive effects of dismissal, section 782, subdivision (e), makes clear that dismissal "does not alone constitute a sealing of records as defined in Section 781 or 786 . . . ." Consequently, a juvenile who has had their case dismissed still needs to petition to seal the records under Welfare and Institutions Code section 781. Although there are some limitations on how long a person has to wait to petition, almost all non-sex offenses can be sealed.
Are juveniles adjudicated a ward of the court for a sex offense eligible to have their record sealed? In many cases, yes. The major prohibition is a record related to an offense listed in Welfare and Institutions Code section 707, subdivision (b), where the person who committed the offense was 14 years or older, and for which the person is required to register under Penal Code section 290.008. The sex offenses in subdivision (b) include oral copulation by force, rape by force, sodomy by force, a violation of section 288(b), and a violation of section 289(a). In sum, a person adjudicated as a juvenile offender under the age of 14 is eligible for sealing in nearly all circumstances. And any sex offenses other than those listed in section 707, subdivision (b), are also eligible for sealing.
More information on sealing a juvenile record can be found here. For questions related to sealing a juvenile or adult record, please contact the Law Office of David Reagan for a free consultation. Mr. Reagan handles cases throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
