re: Cali Senate Democrats Rejected Bill to Make Purchasing 16, 17-year-olds for Sex a Felony

quote:

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bill would make solicitation, attempting to engage or engaging in sex with a minor for money a felony with a prison sentence ranging from 2 to 4 years, a fine not exceeding $25,000, and registration as a sex offender. The bill would punish all those who solicit from a child, regardless of whether or not the person knew or reasonably should have known that the person solicited was a minor.

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The bill addressed soliciting sex from 16 and 17 year old minors in exchange for money. It does not "go after" the pimps. It "goes after" the johns.

If the bill had just elevated that extant crime from a high-level misdemeanor to a felony, it would probably have passed. The highlighted language (removal of the mens rea requirement) was probably what killed the bill. It is not unreasonable to ask whether a person should spend ten years on the Registry, when (s)he did not have any reason to believe that the prostitute was a 17 rather than 18.