Latest news with #AssemblyPublicSafetyCommittee
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers react with ire to removal of 16- and 17-year-old victims from sex trafficking bill
California lawmakers including bill co-author Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, reacted with ire this week after protections for 16- and 17-year-olds were removed from legislation intended to issue greater penalties to sex traffickers. The Assembly Public Safety Committee removed these older teens from AB 379. 'AB 379 faced the same fate as SB 1414: Take out the felony charges for those who purchase 16- and 17-year-old kids for sex, or the bill is dead. This isn't keeping a 'deal,' it's an ultimatum from legislators failing to protect older teens from sex buyers, and it's unacceptable," Grove said in a statement. "I'm glad AB 379 is advancing, but the Assembly Public Safety Committee should have kept the original language," she continued. "We must keep fighting to protect ALL children and hold exploiters accountable." Assemblywoman Dr. Jasmeet Bains, D-Delano, also commented on AB 379, which proposed to make it a felony to purchase 16- and 17-year-old children for sex. 'We have to stop being the party of meaningless gestures and radical policies. Somehow — as the president tanks our economy and deports innocent children, the American people still don't trust Democrats," Bains said in a statement. "Any sane person knows that purchasing a 16-year-old girl for sex should be a felony. How is this a debate?' Meanwhile, Republican Assemblywoman Alexandra M. Macedo, who represents parts of Tulare, Fresno and Kings counties, said Democrats introduced "intent" language that has no prosecutorial or legal standing in the courts, creating "smoke and mirrors" in the pretense to protect 16- and 17-year-olds from sex trafficking. 'If a 16- and a 17-year-old child cannot give consent in the eyes of the law, then why in God's name are they not protected under the same law? How many more children will go through the trauma of being purchased by pedophiles before actual action is being taken?" Macedo asked in a written statement. 'Intent does not carry any weight in the courtroom or bring victims of these heinous acts justice."
The Independent
02-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
What to know about California's fight over harsher penalties for soliciting sex from older teens
A debate over whether to create harsher penalties for soliciting and buying sex from 16- and 17-year-olds exploded in the California Legislature this week. Republicans and some moderate Democrats were pushing for a new tool to help law enforcement go after those who solicit older minors for sex. But some said they worried the measure could be misused and weaponized by parents upset about interracial or LGBTQ+ relationships to target older teens involved in relationships. The issue came to a head Thursday after Republicans in the Assembly argued for the policy on the floor. Democrats overwhelmingly rejected the effort but vowed to bring a new proposal to address the issue. Here's what to know: How does current law protect 16- and 17-year-olds? Under current law, contacting a person under 18 to engage in sexual activity in California is a felony. So are crimes like soliciting a child who is a victim of human trafficking, sexting a minor and engaging in sex with a minor if the age gap between the parties is more than three years. It's also a 'serious' crime in California to traffic minors. Anyone convicted of at least three "serious" felonies in California faces a sentence of between 25 years and life in prison under the 'three strikes law.' 'California leads the nation with some of the toughest laws against trafficking,' said Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, a Democrat. What changes are proposed? Those who are 16 or 17 years old were not included in bipartisan legislation on sex trafficking signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last year. The law, which took effect this year, allows prosecutors to charge those who solicit and buy sex from minors 15 or younger with a felony. It left in place an existing law that limits the penalty for soliciting older teens to a misdemeanor. Assemblymember Maggy Krell, a Democrat with a background as a prosecutor, wanted to expand the law Newsom signed to include older teens. Children under 18 who are bought for sex are considered victims of human trafficking under federal law and should receive the same protection under California law, she said. 'If you're 17 years old on the street corner and an old man comes up and purchases you for sex, that's rape,' Krell said. 'That should be treated as a felony.' Why do some Democrats oppose the change? Democrats on the Assembly Public Safety Committee amended Krell's bill to drop the provision that would make it a felony to solicit and buy sex from older teens. They agreed with Krell's goal but worried the approach could have unintended consequences. Leigh LaChapelle of the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking told lawmakers at a hearing that the policy could be used to target 16- and 17-year-olds who are in relationships with other minors. 'They are worried about the way that the criminal legal system can be utilized by parents who are upset about interracial and LGBTQ relationships," LaChapelle said. During Thursday's legislative debate, Democrats said it's important to give prosecutors the discretion to decide on penalties in these cases. Newsom, first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis criticized the committee's actions. 'The law should treat all sex predators who solicit minors the same — as a felony, regardless of the intended victim's age. Full stop,' Newsom's office said in a statement. He rarely comments on pending legislation. What happens next? Several moderate Democrats, including Krell, broke with their party Thursday to vote with Republicans. Democrats instead backed an amendment saying they plan to 'adopt the strongest laws to protect 16- and 17-year-old victims.' Assemblymember Nick Schultz, who chairs the public safety committee, said he's committed to bringing a new proposal on the issue forward this year. 'We will have a solution,' Schultz said. 'That's my commitment.'
Fox News
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
CA Dems Seek New Lows
California Democrats just can't find it in their hearts to treat buying minors for sex as a felony. I wish I were shocked. I'm Tomi Lahren, more next. The debate in the CA legislature over whether to make it a felony to buy a 16 or 17 year old for sex has been shut down. Republican State Senator Shannon Grove first introduced the proposal to make that despicable act a felony but she couldn't convince Democrats to go that far so last year they struck a 'deal' to ALLOW the felony charge to ONLY apply to those who purchased children under 16 for sex. The dirtbags who purchase a 16 or 17 year old could face a misdemeanor OR felony based on the discretion of local prosecutors. Oh, and the older teens would also have to PROVE they're being trafficked. Back even that so-called 'deal' was too tough for Democrats in the Assembly Public Safety Committee. This week they blocked a proposal to make it a felony and the gutted and just the soft version goes forward. Why would ANYONE want to go soft on those who buy 16 or 17 year olds for sex? Only in California, folks. GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN! I'm Tomi Lahren and you watch my show 'Tomi Lahren is Fearless' at Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
New York Post
30-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Calif. lawmakers block bid to make paying for sex with 16- and 17-year-olds a felony
California lawmakers gutted a bill Tuesday that would have made paying for sex with 16- and 17-year-olds a felony charge. Under current state law, creeps who buy sex from minors under 16 face extra fines, jail time, and either a misdemeanor or felony charge. A new bill meant to protect sex trafficking victims, AB 379, would have upped that age to 18, but Democratic committee members demanded the clause be cut before they let the bill move forward in the California State Assembly. Advertisement Nick Schultz is chairman of the Assembly Public Safety Committee, which blocked a key piece of AB 379. Facebook / Nick Schultz The bill's author, Democrat Maggy Krell, who spent two decades overseeing human trafficking cases for the state, called the move a 'disgrace.' 'I've been doing this for 20 years, and I'm not going to quit now. And I am going to bring this part of this bill back every year until I get the books to protect children. That's what I'm going to do,' she told KCRA 3. Krell added that she still supports the current version AB 379, which imposes harsher penalties on 'loitering with intent to purchase sex' — i.e., prowling street corners for hookups — and establishes a fund for sex trafficking victims. Democrat Assemblymember Maggy Krell wrote the bill. Assemblymember Maggy Krell Advertisement Last year, Republican lawmakers pushed for a similar bill to crack down on Johns prowling for underage streetwalkers. They managed to cut a deal with Democrats to lower the felony age cutoff from 18 to 16. Democrat Nick Shultz, chairman of the Public Safety Committee, said the watering-down of AB 379 was a direct result of that previous deal. 'My perspective as chair, there was a carefully crafted deal last year,' Shultz told KCRA 3. 'We're not saying 'no,' but what we're saying is, if we're going to be thoughtful policy makers, we really need to dive deep into this issue.'
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Yahoo
Proposed CA bill aims to triple punishment for people convicted of child torture
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — In October of 2023, a couple was convicted of charges related to torture and attempted murder of their six-week-old child after the child was found with 'more fractures in his newborn body than days he had been alive,' according to a prosecutor in the case. Jorge Millan, the father of the child who had squeezed the child and caused the fractures, was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. The mother, Elizabeth Jara, was sentenced to nine years in prison for not doing anything to protect the boy, 17 News previously reported. By the time Millan becomes eligible for parole in 15 years, the six-week-old boy and his sister, who was one year old at the time, will both still be minors. A newly proposed legislation in California hopes to prevent similar situations like this. Wasco parents sentenced for horrific abuse of baby The Assembly Public Safety Committee unanimously approved legislation that would triple the penalty against people convicted of child torture, according to a release by Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains. According to the release, Bains pushed Assembly Bill 1094, legislation that would increase one's minimum sentence to 25 years with the possibility of life in prison, if convicted of child torture. The bill says the person convicted of torture would not be eligible for parole until they have served 25 years in prison if the victim was younger than 14 at the time of the crime. The current law in California allows those convicted of child torture to become eligible for parole after just seven years, the release said. Bains said some victims have to prepare for their torturer's parole hearing while they are still kids. 'The trauma they have to endure is lifelong, and the penalties must reflect the gravity of the crime,' Bains said in the release. Never miss a story: Make your homepage In a letter showing support for the legislation, the California District Attorneys Association said the increased penalty for child torture 'would better align the punishment with the severity of the crime and the moral gravity of targeting the most defenseless members of society.' Bains said in the release she has firsthand experience treating the physical and psychological abuse as well as torture that children in Kern County suffered. The existing law is failing the victims of child torture, according to Bains. 'Torture can take decades to recover from, and in some cases, victims never fully recover,' Bains said in the release. 'It is appalling that our current law punishes what is considered a war crime so lightly.' Assembly Bill 1094 will now move forward to the Assembly Appropriations Committee for consideration in the coming weeks. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
