Bill that would increase penalties for paying for child prostitution headed to Newsom

California lawmakers on Saturday, the final day of the legislative session, approved a bill to crack down on child prostitution and allow prosecutors to charge with a felony anyone who purchases sex from a minor 15 years old or younger.

“Down to the wire, right?” Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), who wrote Senate Bill 1414, said to reporters after the Senate passed the bill overwhelmingly. “I’m kind of disappointed we didn’t get 16- and 17-year-olds under the same protections, but 15-year-olds and below will have justice if anyone tries to buy them for sex, so that is moving the needle forward.”

Grove said the law would correct the misguided provision in current law that limits soliciting a minor to a misdemeanor charge. Trafficking children for prostitution already is a felony, and this bill, according to Grove, closes the circle by allowing people who purchase sex from a minor to be charged with a felony as well. An earlier version of the bill included protections for 16- and 17-year-olds, but it was amended during a key legislative committee so that it is a felony only in cases involving victims under 16.

“I proudly support this measure because people who commit this disgusting crime need to be sure they’re held accountable for damaging the lives of our children forever,” Assemblymember Joe Patterson (R-Rocklin) said during lengthy and emotional testimony from lawmakers Friday evening.

The bill now heads to the governor for his consideration.

California

California lawmakers come back with bill targeting ‘buyers’ of child sex trafficking

Republican Sen. Shannon Grove has introduced legislation to lengthen prison terms for those who purchase or engage in child prostitution.

March 1, 2024

“We know how horrendous sex trafficking of children is; the unimaginable pain, anguish and grief caused by these callous acts leaves lifelong emotional and physical scars on its victims if they’re 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 unfortunately, we haven’t focused enough on the buying side of the equation. We know how supply and demand works. In order to buy and sell a child for sex there must be someone willing to purchase that child for sex.”

Prosecutors say they have several means to charge people with felonies for purchasing sex from children, including minors under 14, and for instances of child molestation or rape as well as attempted child molestation. But legal experts say that the buying of children in California goes largely unchecked, and that most convicted people will serve less than their full time because they are entitled to credits that reduce their sentences.

The bill specifies that if the victim were under 16, the person would be charged with a wobbler, which means they can be charged with either a misdemeanor or a felony on the first offense and can be sentenced to 16 months up to three years in county jail and pay a fine of $10,000 or more. On the second offense, a person would be charged with a felony and can face up to three years in county jail. A person 18 years or older who already has one prior conviction for soliciting a minor would be required to be added to the sex offender registry if they were 10 years or more older than the victim.

Last year, Grove introduced an iteration of this bill that targets people who traffic children for prostitution. The Democratic-majority Legislature, which has long fought for less punitive laws, initially did not pass the legislation. But Gov. Gavin Newsom interjected and requested a second vote in the Assembly Public Safety Committee. The committee ended up reversing course and passed it. Since its passage, at least two known cases of child trafficking have been prosecuted in Monterey and Sacramento counties, according to Grove’s office.