Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law Wednesday that increases the penalty for some offenders who solicit 16- and 17-year-olds for sex.
The new law will allow prosecutors to charge suspects who are at least three years older than the minor they solicit for sex with a felony instead of a misdemeanor on a first offense — often called a “wobbler” since prosecutors have discretion. The provision targets older “johns” and avoids charging all younger offenders with a felony.
All minors under 16 and those 18 who are victims of human trafficking are already considered wobbler cases under existing law.
The bill, AB 379, ran into controversy in the spring when Democrats forced amendments to Assemblymember Maggy Krell’s (D-Sacramento) bill in committee, arguing that allowing prosecutors to choose whether to charge an offender with a felony or a misdemeanor on a first offense could potentially harm victims.
Newsom joined with a chorus of Republican and public pushback to the change, an uncommon move before a bill hits his desk. “The law should treat all sex predators who solicit minors the same — as a felony, regardless of the intended victim’s age,” Newsom said in a statement. “Full stop.”
Democrats had other concerns about a provision of the new law that would make it a misdemeanor to loiter with the intent to purchase commercial sex, arguing that it could potentially be used to target minorities and the poor.
“When laws are vague, they are ripe for profiling,” Assemblymember LaShae Sharp-Collins (D-San Diego) said when the bill passed the Assembly in May, after legislators struck a deal to add the three-year stipulation.
The new law also creates a survivors support fund, to be backed by increased fines for offenders and hoteliers who do not report sex trafficking on their premises.
