Senator John Rafferty and I announced our intention to introduce a bill today entitled the “Child Rapist and Sexual Predator Detection Act”. This bill would tighten up the current law concerning the reporting, by health care workers, of the sexual activity of children under the age of 13. Health care workers, including physicians see young people with sexually transmitted diseases as well as pregnancies. If the child is under the age of 13, they must report this person to the county child service agency and under this bill to the Attorney General’s Child Predator Unit; a copy of the complaint then goes to the District Attorney. The bill requires age verification of young people to clear up any discrepancy and requires the health care worker to keep certain evidence including records and potentially DNA in the event that it is necessary for prosecution. Failure to comply with the law, if passed, would be misdemeanor offenses for the first two incidents and felony charges on the third incident. California passed tighter restrictions on their child predator law and has prosecuted hundreds of perpetrators since. Studies show that the vast majority of girls who have had sex under the age of 14 say that it was forced upon them. Studies also show that these same young’s girls had partners that were much older than them. We need this bill to make it through the process. There are few things worse than a child sex predator.
- John
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