SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
KCRAB: A debate on whether people who buy trafficked teens for sex should face harsher consequences in California has consumed the state Capitol.
How did this happen, and why are lawmakers arguing?
Deirdre Fitzpatrick and Capitol Correspondent Ashley Zavala dived into the explosive debate happening over the state’s child sex trafficking laws with an extensive conversation. Watch the video above.
State law requires the traffickers, also known as the sellers, to face the tougher consequences. It is an automatic, serious felony to sell a child under the age of 18 in California. If a criminal is convicted of the crime three times or has already been convicted of two other serious felonies, they could face life in prison.
But the division among Democrats in the state is focused on the buyers, or the consumers of the child sex trafficking industry. Up until this year, it was a misdemeanor in California to purchase or solicit a child for sex, meaning those who buy anyone under the age of 18 have long faced a slap on the wrist and barely any jail time, if at all, according to law enforcement officials.
KCRA 3’s documentary “Escaping the Blade” tracked Sacramento’s sex trafficking problem and the legislative efforts underway to address the issue.
Lawmakers last year approved a measure that went into effect this year to make it an automatic felony to purchase a child 15 years old and younger for sex. Those convicted must also register as sex offenders. Democrats last year agreed to leave 16 and 17-year-olds out of the new law, instead leaving it up to prosecutors to decide if the buyers should face a misdemeanor or felony. Unlike the younger teens, the law requires the 16- and 17-year-olds to prove they’re victims of trafficking.
Democratic Sacramento Assemblymember Maggy Krell this year attempted to loop the 16- and 17-year-olds into the law that applies to the younger teens, but her idea was blocked by the Assembly’s Public Safety committee this week.
Some progressive Democrats worry how the automatic felony could impact an 18-year-old who is either in a relationship or accused of soliciting a 16- or 17-year-old. Some opponents of the measure were worried that parents could use the harsher penalty if they didn’t approve of their child’s LGBTQ or interracial relationship with an older teen.
But Krell has made the issue her life’s work and is an expert on human trafficking. For nearly 20 years, she has investigated trafficking cases. She is known for taking down the trafficking site Backpage.comand was a prosecutor for the California Department of Justice before being elected to the Assembly.
Gov. Gavin Newsom quickly got involved after the committee blocked her idea, signaling his support for Krell’s idea.
Facing public backlash and pressure from Republicans to reverse the change, Democrats on Thursday voted to keep the conversation going while excluding Krell from the issue.
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