What is the test for making a threat under the California Child Protection Act?

This argument falls well wide of the mark. The statute is designed to prohibit plausible threats, and to ignore pranks, misunderstandings, and [196 Cal.App.3d 379] impossibilities. The statute is designed to deter the culprit who intends his threat to be taken seriously. (See People v. Hopkins (1983) 149 Cal.App.3d 36, 41, 196 Cal.Rptr. 609.) A culprit of sound mind who wants his threat seriously considered will frame the threat in such a way that the recipient will believe it will be carried out. The emphasis is not on the subjective belief of the victim; rather, the emphasis is on the intent of the threatener. For if the victim ignores the first threat, the culprit will threaten again and again. This is the conduct the statute expressly prohibits.