California lawmakers on Friday approved legislation to crack down on child prostitution and allow prosecutors to charge anyone who buys sex from a minor with a felony.
Senate Bill 1414 author Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) said the bill would correct the flawed provision in current law that limits underage prostitution to a misdemeanor charge. Trafficking minors for prostitution is already a felony, and this bill, according to Grove, closes the loop by allowing people who purchase sexual services from minors to also be charged with a felony.
“I proudly support this measure because the people who commit this heinous crime need to be assured that they will be held accountable for damaging the lives of our children forever,” Assemblyman Joe Paterson (R-Rocklin) said during lengthy and emotional testimony to lawmakers Friday night.
The bill now goes to Gov. Gavin Newsom for consideration.
“We know how horrendous child sex trafficking is, the unimaginable pain, anguish and grief these cruel acts cause leave lifelong emotional and physical scars on their victims if they are lucky enough to make it out alive,” Grove said during a Senate committee hearing on the bill in April. “We’ve all focused our attention on the traffickers themselves and the brutality of selling a child. And sadly, we haven’t focused enough on the purchasing side of the equation. We know how supply and demand works. In order to buy and sell a child for sex, there has to be someone willing to buy that child for sex.”
Prosecutors say they have several avenues to charge people with felonies for buying sex with children, including those under 14, and for cases of child sexual abuse or rape, as well as attempted child sexual abuse. But legal experts say the purchase of children in California goes largely “unchecked,” and that most people convicted will serve less than their full time because they are eligible for credits that reduce their sentences.
The bill specifies that if the victim is under 16, he or she would be charged with a misdemeanor, meaning he or she can be charged with either a misdemeanor or a felony on a first offense and face a sentence of 16 months to three years in county jail and a fine of up to $10,000. On a second offense, the person would be charged with a felony and could face up to three years in county jail. A person 18 or older with a prior conviction for soliciting a minor would have to be placed on the sex offender registry if he or she was 10 years or older than the victim.
Last year, Grove introduced a version of this bill that targets people who traffic children. prostitution. The Democratic-led Legislature, which has long fought for less punitive laws, initially failed to pass the legislation. But Gov. Gavin Newsom stepped in and requested a second vote in the Assembly Public Safety Committee. The committee ended up reversing course and passing the law. Since its passage, at least two known cases of child trafficking have been prosecuted in Monterey and Sacramento counties, according to Grove’s office.
