G. Weisberg, 40, a Calabasas woman arrested under suspicion of sex with minors has been charged with three counts of unlawful sex with a minor, three felony counts of lewd acts with a minor, two counts of furnishing a controlled substance and five misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Weisberg is alleged to have provided cocaine for five teenage boys, and had sexual encounters with three of them between January 6 and 7, and again and again between January 27 and 28.
Weisberg was arrested March 2nd, and released later that day on $695,000 bail. She is scheduled to be arraigned on March 23.
The crime carrying the most significant penalty that Weisberg is being charged with are the three counts of unlawful sex with a minor. Covered under California Penal Code 261.5 PC, unlawful sex with a minor is also known as statutory rape. The law applies to cases where one person has sex with someone under the age of 18, whether or not the sex was consensual doesn’t matter. Technically, it’s possible to be charged with statutory rape even when both parties are under 18, though prosecutors tend not to pursue charges against teenagers for having sex with other teenagers.
Statutory rape is a “wobbler” in California, meaning it can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the circumstances of the crime and the defendant’s prior criminal record (if any). For example, if the defendant is no more than three years older than the victim, 261.5 PC is always charged as a misdemeanor. If the defendant is more than three years older than the victim, the crime could be a misdemeanor or a felony.
Misdemeanor penalties include informal probation, a maximum sentence of 1 year in county jail and/or up to $1,000 in fines. For felonies, the possible penalties include formal or informal probation, 16 months to 3 years in jail, and/or up to $10,000 in fines.
