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| Author of California child sex trafficking bill forced to exclude felony charge for buyers of teen victims |
| 2025-04-29 |
| [FoxNews] Assembly Bill 379 seeks to align the penalties for sex traffickers with the consumers A California human trafficking bill to combat child sex trafficking is being gutted with the reluctant agreement of the bill’s author to remove a provision that targets consumers in an effort to get the legislation passed. State Assemblywoman Maggy Krell, a Democrat, agreed to remove a clause from Assembly Bill 379 that states buyers of 16 and 17-year-olds for sex would face felony charges, leaving the solicitation of those minors by adults to be treated as a misdemeanor. "In order to get a hearing on the bill, we were forced to remove the piece of the bill that ensures the crime of purchasing a minor for sex applies in all cases where the victim is under the age of 18," Krell told Fox News Digital. "I wholeheartedly disagree with that amendment," she added. "This has been my life’s work and I will continue to partner with sex trafficking survivors and law enforcement to ensure all minors are protected from the horrors of sex trafficking." Krell noted that the bill still criminalizes "the creeps who are loitering to buy teenagers for sex and sets up a fund to help victims. Those will be powerful tools in the fight against sex trafficking — it’s a good start." California Assembly Republicans quickly criticized Democrats over the change. "Why are some @AssemblyDems planning to cut felony charges for adults who buy 16- and 17-year-olds for sex?," California Assembly Republicans posted on X. "There are no excuses. Protect the kids. Not the predators." Earlier, media reports stated that lawmakers wanted to hold off on the bill and possibly hold information hearings on the issue in the fall. The bill came together after older teens were left out of a state law that went into effect this year that makes it a felony to purchase a child, ages 15 and younger for sex. Last year, California State Sen. Shannon Grove authored a bill that made it illegal to buy minors for sex, but it excluded 16 and 17 year-olds. |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #5 Maybe the legislators get discounts when they're buying their own sex slaves. I bet Newsom does. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2025-04-29 15:18 |
| #4 I thought the part where they said lawmakers "....possibly hold information hearings on the issue...." was spectacularly stupid. There's *nothing* to hold "information hearings" on--sex trafficking is a scourge and those who engage in it should be prosecuted, period. Anything to discuss beyond that is just wasting time. |
| Posted by: Crusader 2025-04-29 11:42 |
| #3 Makes me wonder who the 'customers' are and what money changed hands. That is the question. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2025-04-29 10:36 |
| #2 This should have been a slam-dunk in normal societies. Makes me wonder who the 'customers' are and what money changed hands. No, wait. It's Caliphornia. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2025-04-29 06:48 |
| #1 After the watered down bill is signed, the Soros DAs will refuse to enforce it. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2025-04-29 04:58 |