Calif. lawmakers block bid to make paying for intercourse with 16- and 17-year-olds a felony

California lawmakers gutted a invoice Tuesday that might have made paying for intercourse with 16- and 17-year-olds a felony cost.

Underneath present state regulation, creeps who purchase intercourse from minors underneath 16 face further fines, jail time, and both a misdemeanor or felony cost.

A brand new invoice meant to guard intercourse trafficking victims, AB 379, would have upped that age to 18, however Democratic committee members demanded the clause be reduce earlier than they let the invoice transfer ahead within the California State Meeting.

The invoice’s writer, Democrat Maggy Krell, who spent 20 years overseeing human trafficking instances for the state, known as the transfer a “shame.”

“I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and I’m not going to give up now. And I’m going to deliver this a part of this invoice again yearly till I get the books to guard youngsters. That’s what I’m going to do,” she informed KCRA 3.

Krell added that she nonetheless helps the present model AB 379, which imposes harsher penalties on “loitering with intent to buy intercourse” — i.e., prowling avenue corners for hookups — and establishes a fund for intercourse trafficking victims.

Final 12 months, Republican lawmakers pushed for the same invoice to crack down on Johns prowling for underage streetwalkers. They managed to chop a take care of Democrats to decrease the felony age cutoff from 18 to 16.

Democrat Nick Shultz, chairman of the Public Security Committee, mentioned the watering-down of AB 379 was a direct results of that earlier deal.

“My perspective as chair, there was a rigorously crafted deal final 12 months,” Shultz informed KCRA 3. “We’re not saying ‘no,’ however what we’re saying is, if we’re going to be considerate coverage makers, we actually must dive deep into this difficulty.”