Wednesday, 30 April 2025

Legislation To Make S*x Trafficking 16 And 17-Year-Olds A Felony Blocked By Democrat State Lawmakers

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California Democratic lawmakers are blocking legislation to make the sex trafficking of 16 and 17-year-olds a felony.

“Assemblyman Nick Shultz, the Democratic chairman of the committee, confirmed AB 379, a bill to crack down on the consumers of the child sex trafficking industry, will move forward on Tuesday, but without the proposed felony charge,” KCRA 3 reports.

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KCRA 3 reports:

It’s the latest development in a debate that has been underway for more than a year at the state capitol as lawmakers target criminals who buy children for sex.

Last year, Republican State Senator Shannon Grove first introduced the proposal to make it a felony to buy a child under the age of 18 for sex. Before the proposal, it had been a misdemeanor crime in the state.

Grove and other lawmakers in the Senate and Assembly last year struck what Democrats called “a deal” and Grove called “an ultimatum” to allow the felony charge to only apply to those who purchase children under the age of 16 for sex. For those who purchase 16 and 17-year-olds, those criminals could face either a misdemeanor or felony, leaving it up to local prosecutors to decide. The law also requires the older teens to prove they’re being trafficked.

Last year’s deal is now coming back to haunt this year’s proposal, written by Democratic Assemblymember Maggy Krell, who spent two decades working on trafficking cases for the California Department of Justice before being elected to the Assembly this year.

Both Shultz and Grove confirmed to KCRA 3 last year’s deal is keeping this year’s proposal from moving forward.

Per Breitbart:

The blocking effort is the latest chapter in a saga that began in 2023. As Breitbart News reported at the time, Republican State Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) had introduced a bill to make sex trafficking of minors a “serious felony.” It passed unanimously in the State Senate, but Democrats on the State Assembly’s Public Safety Committee blocked the bill, since they did not want to increase criminal penalties generally.

Faced with public embarrassment, Democrats struck a deal in 2024 with Grove, under which the bill would advance but only if it was limited to victims under the age of 16. Now, a Democrat, State Assemblymember Maggy Krell (D-Sacramento), is trying to make trafficking minors aged 16 and 17 a felony, too — and fellow Democrats are refusing to allow the bill to advance.

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