Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My wife recently blew a gasket over something she heard about from some friends. It sounded pretty outlandish to me, so I told her I'd check it out.
Turned out it's true.
For a long time prostitution has been illegal in California. Anyone caught engaging in prostitution, would be charged with a misdemeanor offense, and it would go on your record. That's men or women, old or young.
But in 2016, Governor Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown signed SB-1322 (SB stands for Senate Bill). It modified the laws against prostitution. Nothing has changed for prostitutes age 18 or above. But for prostitutes under age 18, they will no longer be charged with a misdemeanor. They won't be charged at all. They can walk right out of the police station as soon as their age is established.
What really upset my wife, is that the police apparently don't have to notify the underage prostitute's parents if the kid gets picked up for prostitution.
Calif juvenile law applies here. And it says that anytime someone under 18 gets arrested for anything, the cops must notify the parents. But for an arrest, there must be a charge. Child prostitutes used to get a misdemeanor charge of prostitution, so the cops had to call the parents. But now the SB-1322 has been enacted, the kids don't get charged at all. Meaning, it's not a real arrest (maybe it's called "detained"). And so cops are no longer required to notify the parents, whose kid just got hauled in for prostitution. The kid is released immediately, no charges, no police record.
What's really ironic, is that in California it's illegal to have sex with ANYONE under age 18. Even if the kid agrees and really wants to. Even if their partner pays them. Regardless, that's Statutory Rape. The state feels that kids under 18 aren't old enough to decide whether they want to have sex. So no matter what the kid says, the law's answer is NO. So if the cops find an older man having sex with a prostitute, and they find the prostitute is under 18, the prostitute goes free immediately, but the guy goes into the slammer for a LONG time.
All states have an Age of Consent for sexual matters. It's either 16, 17, or 18, depending on the state. And most of them have laws on Statutory Rape.
But to my knowledge, California is the only state where prostitution is illegal UNLESS the hooker is under 18. For them it's just fine.
Rarely have I been this disgusted. And, yes, the law does legalize child prostitution for those who are selling their bodies (or forcibly being made to prostitute). That it doesn't legalize the conduct of those who would pay for sex services doesn't change this fact. And people wonder why I have a problem with these so-called "fact-checker" websites.
This law is a disaster. By taking away criminal penalties for minors engaged in prostitution, all CA does is make it easier for these minors to go back to their abusers (who are often the only people they know in the area) without having to cooperate with authorities. It removes some leverage that authorities had to bring pimps to justice as the minors will never have to make deals to lock these pimps the hell up. What a damn disgrace!
No charges for those under 18, what if the John is under 18. No prob...
Already covered in the OP. How about reading it?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.