Govenor to sign sexual exploitation bill
Posted July 2nd, 2008 by kdunlap
I just wanted to post a quick update from the teen prostitution series in the Oakland Tribune. Assembly bill 499, which would identify minors caught in the sex trade as victims, rather than criminals has reached Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk to be signed into law.
The Governor has until Sept. 30 to sign the bill into law, otherwise it will automatically become law. The law would free children under 18 from the threat of prosecution and enable them to receive the services they need.
Currently, if a minor younger than 18 is picked up for prostitution, she is charged as a criminal and sent to juvenile hall.
However, social service workers and law enforcement agencies are hoping a new law would change. The law also would help girls who want to bring charges against a pimp.
"This legislation takes Oakland one step closer toward combating one of the most serious epidemics threatening our youth -- the sale of children for sex," said Sharmin Eshraghi Bock, assistant district attorney in charge of the county's human exploitation and tracking unit.
Sharmin Bock DA: Sharmin Bock is an assistant District Attorney at Alameda County Superior Court House who is trying to turn around how law enforcement goes after prostitution by prosecuting pimps instead of the girls. Bock is constantly on her Blackberry. She is working
AB499's provisions include:
Increase coordination between government, law enforcement and child
advocates working with sexually exploited children to ensure they are
treated with similar types of care to that received by victims of
domestic violence, which includes access to shelters and counseling.
Create a pilot program in Alameda County to implement a uniformed
training curriculum to properly treat sexually exploited minors as
victims of coercion and not criminals of intent. The curriculum also
would train law enforcement, prosecutors and public defenders to
properly recognize the signs of sexual exploitation of children.
Require that the training curriculum be available to area law enforcement and criminal justice agencies.
Kamika Dunlap -- Oakland Tribune
