BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1844
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1844 (Fletcher)
As Amended August 20, 2010
2/3 vote. Urgency
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|ASSEMBLY: |71-0 |(June 3, 2010) |SENATE: |36-0 |(August 24, |
| | | | | |2010) |
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Original Committee Reference: PUB. S.
SUMMARY : Enacts "Chelsea's Law," which increases penalties for
forcible sex acts against minors, creates a penalty of life
without the possibility of parole (LWOP) for specified sex acts
against minors, creates safe zones around parks, and mandates
lifetime parole for specified sex offenses.
The Senate amendments :
1)Increase the punishment for lewd and lascivious acts upon a
dependant person by force or fear from 3, 6, or 8 years in
state prison to 5, 8, or 10 years in state prison.
2)Specify that the punishment for rape, sodomy, oral copulation,
or penetration upon a minor under the age of 14 is 9, 11, or
13 years in state prison.
3)Specify that the punishment for rape, sodomy, oral copulation,
or penetration upon a minor 14 years or older is 7, 9, or 11
years.
4)Specify that the punishment for rape, sodomy, oral copulation,
or penetration in concert upon a minor under the age of 14 is
10, 12, or 14 years.
5)Specify that the punishment for rape, sodomy, oral copulation,
or penetration in concert upon a minor 14 or older is 7, 9, or
11 years.
6)Specify that the punishment for lewd or lascivious acts upon a
minor under the age of 14 years by means of force or fear is
5, 8, or 10 years.
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7)Remove the increased punishment for lewd and lascivious acts
upon a dependent person by use of force or fear.
8)Specify that the punishment for rape, rape in concert, spousal
rape, or sexual penetration with two specified circumstances
upon a minor 14 years or older shall be imprisonment in state
prison without the possibility of parole (LWOP) if the
offender is 18 years of age or older or 25-years-to-life if
the offender is under the age of 18.
9)Provide that a person is guilty of a misdemeanor if he or she
is on parole for specified sex offenses and he or she enters
into a park where children regularly gather without the
express permission from a parole agent.
10)Require lifetime parole for habitual sex offenders; persons
convicted of kidnapping a child under the age of 14 with the
intent to commit a specified sex act; and persons convicted of
specified sex crimes, including the sexual assault of a child.
11)Require a 10-year parole period for an inmate sentenced to
lewd and lascivious acts committed against a victim under 14
years of age.
12)Require a 20-year parole period for an inmate convicted and
required to register as a sex offender for rape, sodomy, lewd
and lascivious acts, continual sexual abuse of a child, and
other specified sex crimes in which the victim was under the
age of 14 years.
13)Require that a person convicted of petty theft with a prior
to have three or more qualifying offenses to be subject to
imprisonment in the state prison for petty theft unless the
offender is a sex offender or has a previous serious or
violent felony conviction, who have been convicted and
imprisoned for the commission of specified crimes, including
petty theft, auto theft, burglary, carjacking, or robbery.
14)Provide that the STATIC-99 risk assessment scale shall be the
State-Authorized Risk Assessment Tool for Sex Offenders
(SARATSO) static tool for adult makes.
15)Require the SARATSO Review Committee, on or before January 1,
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2012, to select an actuarial instrument that measures the
dynamic risk factors and an actuarial instrument that measures
the risk of future sexual violence.
16)Require that the Department of Justice (DOJ) make available a
person's static SARATSO score and information on an elevated
risk level via the DOJ's Web site.
17)Require that a person convicted of specified sexual offenses
and granted probation be placed in an appropriate treatment
program with specified conditions including participation in
an approved sex offender management program.
18)Require that a person released on parole for specified sex
offenses participate in an approved sex offender management
program.
19)State that if one independent professional agrees with the
findings of the chief psychiatrist evaluating a prisoner as to
whether he or she meets the requirements for mandated
treatment by the Department of Mental Health, the prisoner
must undergo treatment.
20)Delete the January 1, 2011 sunset date for the California
Sexual Violence Services Fund.
21)Provide that any person who commits human trafficking
involving a commercial sex act where the victim of human
trafficking was under 18 years of age shall be punished by a
fine of not more than $100,000 to be deposited in the
Victim-Witness Assistance Fund to be available for
appropriation to fund services for victims of human
trafficking.
22)Add double-jointing language with SB 1201 (DeSaulnier) to
prevent chaptering issues.
23)Add an urgency clause.
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EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that persons who commit rape, spousal rape, rape in
concert, lewd and lascivious acts on a minor, sexual
penetration, sodomy, oral copulation, continuous sexual abuse
of a child, shall be punished by 25-years-to-life if:
a) One or more of the following circumstances exist:
i) The defendant has been previously convicted of a
specified sex offense;
ii) The defendant kidnapped the victim of the present
offense and the movement of the victim substantially
increased the risk of harm to the victim;
iii) The defendant inflicted aggravated mayhem or torture
on the victim or another person in the commission of the
present offense;
iv) The defendant committed the present offense during
the commission of a burglary of the first degree; or,
v) The defendant committed rape by a foreign object,
sodomy in concert, as specified, oral copulation in
concert as specified, and commit specified factors.
b) Two or more of the following circumstances exist:
i) The defendant kidnapped the victim of the present
offense, as specified;
ii) The defendant committed the present offense during
the commission of a burglary, as specified;
iii) The defendant personally used a dangerous or deadly
weapon or a firearm in the commission of the present
offense, as specified;
iv) The defendant has been convicted in the present case
or cases of committing an offense specified against more
than one victim;
v) The defendant engaged in the tying or binding of the
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victim or another person in the commission of the present
offense;
vi) The defendant administered a controlled substance to
the victim in the commission of the present offense, as
specified; or,
vii) The defendant committed rape by a foreign object,
sodomy in concert as specified, oral copulation in
concert as specified, and commit specified factors.
2)Provides that persons who commit rape, spousal rape, rape in
concert, lewd and lascivious acts on a minor, sexual
penetration, sodomy, oral copulation, continuous sexual abuse
of a child, shall be punished with 15-years-to-life with one
of the following circumstances:
a) The defendant kidnapped the victim of the present
offense, as specified;
b) The defendant committed the present offense during the
commission of a burglary, as specified;
c) The defendant personally used a dangerous or deadly
weapon or a firearm in the commission of the present
offense, as specified;
d) The defendant has been convicted in the present case or
cases of committing an offense specified against more than
one victim;
e) The defendant engaged in the tying or binding of the
victim or another person in the commission of the present
offense;
f) The defendant administered a controlled substance to the
victim in the commission of the present offense, as
specified; or,
g) The defendant committed rape by a foreign object, sodomy
in concert as specified, oral copulation in concert, as
specified, and commit specified factors.
3)Provides that the punishment for rape is three, six, or eight
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years.
4)States that in any case in which the defendant, voluntarily
acting in concert with another person, by force or violence
and against the will of the victim, committed a rape or sexual
penetration, either personally or by aiding and abetting the
other person the defendant shall suffer confinement in the
state prison for five, seven, or nine years.
5)Provides that any person who commits any of the following acts
upon a child who is under 14 years of age and seven or more
years younger than the person is guilty of aggravated sexual
assault of a child and shall be punished by imprisonment in
the state prison for 15-years-to-life:
a) Rape;
b) Rape or sexual penetration, in concert;
c) Sodomy;
d) Oral copulation;
e) Sexual penetration; and,
f) Any person who violates this section is guilty of a
felony.
6)States that any person 18 years of age or older who engages in
sexual intercourse or sodomy with a child who is 10 years of
age or younger is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by
imprisonment in the state prison for a term of
25-years-to-life.
7)Any person 18 years of age or older who engages in oral
copulation or sexual penetration, with a child who is 10 years
of age or younger is guilty of a felony and shall be punished
by imprisonment in the state prison for a term of
15-years-to-life.
8)Defines "sodomy" as sexual conduct consisting of contact
between the penis of one person and the anus of another
person. Any sexual penetration, however slight, is sufficient
to complete the crime of sodomy.
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9)Provides that any person who commits an act of sodomy when the
act is accomplished against the victim's will by means of
force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and
unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person shall
be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three,
six, or eight years.
10)Provides that any person who commits an act of sodomy where
the act is accomplished against the victim's will by
threatening to retaliate in the future against the victim or
any other person, and there is a reasonable possibility that
the perpetrator will execute the threat, shall be punished by
imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight
years.
11)Provides that any person who, while voluntarily acting in
concert with another person, either personally or aiding and
abetting that other person, commits an act of sodomy when the
act is accomplished against the victim's will by means of
force or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the
victim or another person or where the act is accomplished
against the victim's will by threatening to retaliate in the
future against the victim or any other person, and there is a
reasonable possibility that the perpetrator will execute the
threat, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison
for five, seven, or nine years.
12)States that any person who commits an act of sodomy, and the
victim is at the time unconscious of the nature of the act and
this is known to the person committing the act, shall be
punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six,
or eight years. As used in this subdivision, "unconscious of
the nature of the act" means incapable of resisting because
the victim meets one of the following conditions:
a) Was unconscious or asleep;
b) Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant that
the act occurred;
c) Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant of the
essential characteristics of the act due to the
perpetrator's fraud in fact; and,
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d) Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant of the
essential characteristics of the act due to the
perpetrator's fraudulent representation that the sexual
penetration served a professional purpose when it served no
professional purpose.
13)States that any person who commits an act of sodomy, where
the victim is prevented from resisting by an intoxicating or
anesthetic substance, or any controlled substance, and this
condition was known, or reasonably should have been known by
the accused, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state
prison for three, six, or eight years.
14)States that any person who commits an act of sodomy, where
the victim submits under the belief that the person committing
the act is the victim's spouse, and this belief is induced by
any artifice, pretense, or concealment practiced by the
accused, with intent to induce the belief, shall be punished
by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight
years.
15)States that any person who commits an act of sodomy, where
the act is accomplished against the victim's will by
threatening to use the authority of a public official to
incarcerate, arrest, or deport the victim or another, and the
victim has a reasonable belief that the perpetrator is a
public official, shall be punished by imprisonment in the
state prison for three, six, or eight years. As used in this
subdivision, "public official" means a person employed by a
governmental agency who has the authority, as part of that
position, to incarcerate, arrest, or deport another. The
perpetrator does not actually have to be a public official.
16)States that any person who willfully and lewdly commits any
lewd or lascivious act, including any of the acts constituting
other specified crimes, upon or with the body, or any part or
member thereof, of a child who is under the age of 14 years,
with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the
lust, passions, or sexual desires of that person or the child,
is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in
the state prison for three, six, or eight years.
17)Provides that any person who commits a lewd and lascivious
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act upon a minor under the age of 14 by use of force,
violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful
bodily injury on the victim or another person, is guilty of a
felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state
prison for three, six, or eight years.
18)States that any person who is a caretaker and commits an act,
as specified, upon a dependent person by use of force,
violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful
bodily injury on the victim or another person, with a
specified intent, is guilty of a felony and shall be punished
by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight
years.
19)Provides that any person who commits a lewd and lascivious
act upon a minor with the requisite intent, and the victim is
a child of 14 or 15 years, and that person is at least 10
years older than the child, is guilty of a public offense and
shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for one,
two, or three years, or by imprisonment in a county jail for
not more than one year. In determining whether the person is
at least 10 years older than the child, the difference in age
shall be measured from the birth date of the person to the
birth date of the child.
20)States that any person who is a caretaker and commits a lewd
and lascivious act upon a dependent person with the requisite
intent is guilty of a public offense and shall be punished by
imprisonment in the state prison for one, two, or three years,
or by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one
year.
21)Defines "oral copulation" as the act of copulating the mouth
of one person with the sexual organ or anus of another person.
22)States that any person who participates in an act of oral
copulation with another person who is under 14 years of age
and more than 10 years younger than he or she shall be
punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six,
or eight years.
23)States that any person who commits an act of oral copulation
when the act is accomplished against the victim's will by
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means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate
and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person
shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for
three, six, or eight years.
24)Any person who commits an act of oral copulation where the
act is accomplished against the victim's will by threatening
to retaliate in the future against the victim or any other
person, and there is a reasonable possibility that the
perpetrator will execute the threat, shall be punished by
imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight
years.
25)Any person who commits an act of oral copulation, and the
victim is at the time unconscious of the nature of the act and
this is known to the person committing the act, shall be
punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a period of
three, six, or eight years. As used in this subdivision,
"unconscious of the nature of the act" means incapable of
resisting because the victim meets one of the following
conditions:
a) Was unconscious or asleep;
b) Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant that
the act occurred;
c) Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant of the
essential characteristics of the act due to the
perpetrator's fraud in fact; or,
d) Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant of the
essential characteristics of the act due to the
perpetrator's fraudulent representation that the oral
copulation served a professional purpose when it served no
professional purpose.
26)Any person who commits an act of sexual penetration when the
act is accomplished against the victim's will by means of
force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and
unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person shall
be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three,
six, or eight years.
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27)Defines "sexual penetration" as the act of causing the
penetration, however slight, of the genital or anal opening of
any person or causing another person to so penetrate the
defendant's or another person's genital or anal opening for
the purpose of sexual arousal, gratification, or abuse by any
foreign object, substance, instrument, or device, or by any
unknown object.
28)Defines "foreign object, substance, instrument, or device" as
any part of the body, except a sexual organ.
29)Specifies that "unknown object" shall include any foreign
object, substance, instrument, or device, or any part of the
body, including a penis, when it is not known whether
penetration was by a penis or by a foreign object, substance,
instrument, or device, or by any other part of the body.
30)Any person who commits an act of sexual penetration when the
act is accomplished against the victim's will by threatening
to retaliate in the future against the victim or any other
person, and there is a reasonable possibility that the
perpetrator will execute the threat, shall be punished by
imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight
years.
31)States that any person who commits an act of sexual
penetration, and the victim is at the time incapable, because
of a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability,
of giving legal consent, and this is known or reasonably
should be known to the person committing the act or causing
the act to be committed, shall be punished by imprisonment in
the state prison for three, six, or eight years.
32)Provides that any person who commits an act of sexual
penetration, and the victim is at the time incapable, because
of a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability,
of giving legal consent, and this is known or reasonably
should be known to the person committing the act or causing
the act to be committed and both the defendant and the victim
are at the time confined in a state hospital for the care and
treatment of the mentally disordered or in any other public or
private facility for the care and treatment of the mentally
disordered approved by a county mental health director, shall
be punished by imprisonment in the state prison, or in a
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county jail for a period of not more than one year.
33)States that any person who commits an act of sexual
penetration, and the victim is at the time unconscious of the
nature of the act and this is known to the person committing
the act or causing the act to be committed, shall be punished
by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight
years. As used in this subdivision, "unconscious of the nature
of the act" means incapable of resisting because the victim
meets one of the following conditions:
a) Was unconscious or asleep;
b) Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant that
the act occurred;
c) Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant of the
essential characteristics of the act due to the
perpetrator's fraud in fact; or,
d) Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant of the
essential characteristics of the act due to the
perpetrator's fraudulent representation that the sexual
penetration served a professional purpose when it served no
professional purpose.
34)States that any person who commits an act of sexual
penetration when the victim is prevented from resisting by any
intoxicating or anesthetic substance, or any controlled
substance, and this condition was known, or reasonably should
have been known by the accused, shall be punished by
imprisonment in the state prison for a period of three, six,
or eight years.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Provided for an increased penalty for assault of a person
under the age of 18 years of age with the intent to commit
lewd or lascivious acts, mayhem, rape, sodomy, oral
copulation, rape with a foreign object, or forcible acts of
sexual penetration from two, four, or six years to five, seven
or nine years in state prison.
2)Increased the punishment for rape by means of force, violence,
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duress, menace, or fear of bodily injury of a child under the
age of 14 from three, six or eight years to 6, 12, or 16 years
in state prison.
3)Increased the punishment for rape by means of force, violence,
duress, menace, or fear of bodily injury of a minor between
the ages of 14 and 17 from three, six or eight years to 6, 9,
or 11 years in state prison.
4)Increased the punishment for an act of sodomy with another
person who is under 14 years of age when the act is
accomplished against the victim's will by means of force,
violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful
bodily injury on the victim or another person from three,
six, or eight years to 6, 12, or 16 years.
5)Increased the punishment for any person who commits an act of
sodomy with another person who is a minor between the ages of
14 to 17 when the act is accomplished against the victim's
will by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of
immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another
person from three, six or eight years to 6, 9, or 11 years in
state prison.
6)Increased the penalty for any person who, while voluntarily
acting in concert with another person, either personally or
aiding and abetting that other person, commits an act of
sodomy upon a victim who is under 14 years of age, when the
act is accomplished against the victim's will by means of
force or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the
victim or another person from five, seven, or nine years to 7,
13, or 17 years in state prison.
7)Increased the penalty for any person who, while voluntarily
acting in concert with another person, either personally or
aiding and abetting that other person, commits an act of
sodomy upon a victim who is between the ages of 14 and 17,
when the act is accomplished against the victim's will by
means of force or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury
on the victim or another person, from five, seven or nine
years to 7, 10, or 12 years in state prison.
8)Increased the penalty for any person who willfully and lewdly
commits any lewd or lascivious act upon a child under the age
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of 14 by use of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of
immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another
person from three, six or eight years to 6, 12 or 16 years in
state prison.
9)Increased the penalty for any person who is a caretaker and
willfully and lewdly commits any lewd or lascivious act upon a
child under the age of 14 who is a dependent person by use of
force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and
unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person from
three, six or eight years to 6, 9, or 11 years.
10)Increased the penalty for any person who commits an act of
oral copulation upon a person who is under 14 years of age,
when the act is accomplished against the victim's will by
means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate
and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person
from three, six, or eight years to 6, 12, or 16 years in state
prison.
11)Increased the penalty for any person who commits an act of
oral copulation upon a minor who is 14 years of age or older,
when the act is accomplished against the victim's will by
means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate
and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person
from three, six, or eight years to 6, 9, or 11 years.
12)Increased the penalty of any person who, while voluntarily
acting in concert with another person, either personally or
aiding and abetting that other person, commits an act of oral
copulation upon a victim who is under 14 years of age, when
the act is accomplished against the victim's will by means of
force or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the
victim or another person from five, seven, or nine years to 7,
13, or 17 years in state prison.
13)Increased the penalty of any person who, while voluntarily
acting in concert with another person, either personally or
aiding and abetting that other person, commits an act of oral
copulation upon a victim who is between the ages of 14 and 17,
when the act is accomplished against the victim's will by
means of force or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury
on the victim or another person from five, seven, or nine
years to 7, 10, or 12 years in state prison.
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14)Increased the penalty of any person who commits an act of
sexual penetration upon a child who is under 14 years of age,
when the act is accomplished against the victim's will by
means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate
and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person
from three, six, or eight years to 6, 12, or 16 years.
15)Increased the penalty of any person who commits an act of
sexual penetration upon a minor who is between the ages of 14
to 17, when the act is accomplished against the victim's will
by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of
immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another
person from three, six, or eight years to 6, 9, or 11 years in
state prison.
16)Stated that any person who is required to register pursuant
to the Sex Offender Registration Act for a felony offense, who
enters any park where children regularly gather without
written permission, is guilty of a misdemeanor:
a) If the person is on parole, written permission shall be
obtained from the person's parole officer;
b) If the person is not on parole, written permission shall
be obtained from the chief administrative official of the
park; and,
c) Punishment for a violation of this section shall be as
follows:
i) Upon a first conviction, by imprisonment in a county
jail not exceeding six months, or by a fine not exceeding
$500, or by both imprisonment and a fine;
ii) Upon a second conviction pursuant to this section,
by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of not less
than 10 days and not more than six months. In addition
to imprisonment, a violation of this section punishable
pursuant to this paragraph may also be punished by a fine
not exceeding $500. A defendant sentenced pursuant to
this paragraph shall not be released on probation,
parole, or any other basis, until he or she has served at
least 10 days imprisonment in a county jail;
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iii) Upon a third or subsequent conviction pursuant to
this section, by imprisonment in a county jail for a
period of not less than 90 days and not more than six
months and a fine not exceeding $500. A defendant
sentenced pursuant to this paragraph shall not be
released on probation, parole, or any other basis, until
he or she has served at least 90 days imprisonment in a
county jail; and,
iv) This section does not preclude or prohibit
prosecution under any other provision of law.
17)Stated that any person who is convicted of rape, spousal
rape, rape in concert, lewd or lascivious acts, sexual
penetration, sodomy, oral copulation, or continuous sexual
abuse of a child upon a victim who is a child under 14 years
of age and who, in the commission of the offense, inflicted
bodily harm upon the victim shall be punished with
imprisonment in state prison for LWOP. Defines "bodily harm"
as any substantial physical injury resulting from the use of
force that is more than the force necessary to commit the
underlying forcible sex act.
18)Stated that any person who is convicted of rape, spousal
rape, rape in concert, lewd or lascivious acts, sexual
penetration, sodomy, oral copulation, or continuous sexual
abuse of a child, under one or more of the following
circumstances upon a victim who is a minor between the ages of
14 to 17 they shall be punished by imprisonment in state
prison for 25-years-to-life, if he or she commits the offense
upon a child under 14 years of age shall be punished by
imprisonment in the state prison for LWOP, unless the
defendant is under the age of 18, they will be punished by a
term of 25-years-to-life.
a) The defendant has been previously convicted of one of
the same offenses, including an offense committed in
another jurisdiction that includes all of the same
elements;
b) The defendant kidnapped the victim of the present
offense and the movement of the victim substantially
increased the risk of harm to the victim over and above
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that level of risk necessarily inherent in the commission
of the offense;
c) The defendant inflicted aggravated mayhem or torture on
the victim or another person in the commission of the
present offense;
d) The defendant committed the present offense during the
commission of a burglary of the first degree, with intent
to commit one of the sexual offenses listed;
e) The defendant committed the present offense in violation
of rape by a foreign object, sodomy in concert, or oral
copulation and, in the commission of that offense, any
person committed any act, as specified;
f) The defendant personally inflicted great bodily injury
on the victim or another person in the commission of the
present offense in violation of specified firearm
enhancements, or specified felony attempt enhancements;
g) The defendant personally used a dangerous or deadly
weapon or a firearm in the commission of the present
offense in violation of specified sections;
h) The defendant has been convicted in the present case or
cases of committing the sexual offenses against more than
one victim;
i) The defendant engaged in the tying or binding of the
victim or another person in the commission of the present
offense;
j) The defendant administered a controlled substance to the
victim in the commission of the present offense, as
specified; and,
aa) The defendant committed rape by a foreign object, sodomy
in concert as specified, oral copulation in concert, as
specified, and commit specified factors.
19)Stated that any person who is convicted of rape by force or
fear, spousal rape, rape in concert, sexual penetration,
sodomy as specified, oral copulation as specified, under one
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or more of the circumstances specified in the following "Group
1" or under two or more of the circumstances specified in the
following "Group 2" upon a victim who is a minor 14 years of
age or older shall be punished by imprisonment in the state
prison for LWOP, unless the defendant is under the age of 18,
the defendant shall be punished by a term of 25-years-to-life.
a) Group 1 Circumstances (requires one of these factors to
receive LWOP):
i) The defendant has been previously convicted of one
of the above specified sex offenses, including an offense
committed in another jurisdiction that includes all of
the elements;
ii) The defendant kidnapped the victim of the present
offense and the movement of the victim substantially
increased the risk of harm to the victim over and above
that level of risk necessarily inherent in the commission
of the offense;
iii) The defendant inflicted aggravated mayhem or torture
on the victim or another person in the commission of the
present offense;
iv) The defendant committed the present offense during
the commission of a burglary of the first degree, with
intent to commit one of the sexual offenses listed;
v) The defendant committed the present offense in
violation of rape by a foreign object, sodomy in concert,
or oral copulation and, in the commission of that
offense, any person committed any act, as specified; and,
vi) The defendant personally inflicted great bodily
injury on the victim or another person in the commission
of the present offense in violation of specified firearm
enhancements, or specified felony attempt enhancements.
b) Group 2 Circumstances (requiring two or more of these
factors to receive LWOP):
i) The defendant kidnapped the victim of the present
offense, as specified;
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ii) The defendant committed the present offense during
the commission of a burglary, as specified;
iii) The defendant personally used a dangerous or deadly
weapon or a firearm in the commission of the present
offense, as specified;
iv) The defendant has been convicted in the present case
or cases of committing an offense specified against more
than one victim;
v) The defendant engaged in the tying or binding of the
victim or another person in the commission of the present
offense;
vi) The defendant administered a controlled substance to
the victim in the commission of the present offense, as
specified; and,
vii) The defendant committed rape by a foreign object,
sodomy in concert as specified, oral copulation in
concert, as specified, and commit specified factors.
20)Stated that any person who is convicted of rape by force or
fear; spousal rape; rape in concert; sexual penetration;
sodomy, as specified; or oral copulation, as specified, under
one of the following circumstances against a minor 14 years of
age or older shall be punished by imprisonment in the state
prison for 25-years-to-life:
a) The defendant kidnapped the victim of the present
offense, as specified;
b) The defendant committed the present offense during the
commission of a burglary, as specified;
c) The defendant personally used a dangerous or deadly
weapon or a firearm in the commission of the present
offense, as specified;
d) The defendant has been convicted in the present case or
cases of committing an offense specified against more than
one victim;
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e) The defendant engaged in the tying or binding of the
victim or another person in the commission of the present
offense;
f) The defendant administered a controlled substance to the
victim in the commission of the present offense, as
specified; and,
g) The defendant committed rape by a foreign object, sodomy
in concert as specified, oral copulation in concert, as
specified, and commit specified factors.
21)Increased the parole period for those convicted of rape,
sodomy, oral copulation, sexual penetration, rape in concert
from five years to 10 years unless a longer period of parole
is specified.
22)Increased the parole period in the case of any offense for
which an inmate has received a life sentence due to a
conviction of kidnapping (for rape, spousal rape, oral
copulation, sodomy, or other specified sexual offenses) from
five years to 10 years.
23)Increased parole to lifetime parole for the following
offenses:
a) Lewd and lascivious acts on a child under the age of 14
years;
b) Lewd and lascivious acts on a child under the age of 14
by means of force or fear;
c) Continuous sexual abuse of a child;
d) Sexual intercourse, oral copulation, or sodomy with a
child 10 years of age or younger;
e) A conviction under the habitual sexual offenders section
where the victim is under the age of 14 years;
f) Aggravated sexual assault of a child;
g) Lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of
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14 with two or more of a specified prior;
h) Specified felony sex offense special circumstances;
i) Rape of a child under 14 years of age;
j) Spousal rape of a child under 14 years of age;
aa) Rape by a foreign object of a child under 14 years of
age;
bb) Sodomy of a child under 14 years of age;
cc) Oral copulation on a child under 14 years of age; and,
dd) Forcible acts of sexual penetration of a child under 14
years of age.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, according to an analysis of this bill by the
Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO), requested by the Chair of
the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill will create
annual General Funds costs in the tens of millions of dollars
within the decade, and hundreds of millions of dollars for
longer prison terms in the out-years, lifetime parole
supervision and increased parole revocations.
These estimates may be conservative as the LAO analysis used the
marginal overcrowding figures for inmates and parolees ($23,000
and $2,500, respectively), rather than the budgeted per capita
cost ($45,000 and $6,000).
Also, the LAO estimates do not include:
1)How many offenders would receive life terms as a result of
this bill? [The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
(CDCR) was unable to provide sufficient data to make such as
estimate.] LAO does state, however, "that the number of
offenders affected by the measure could be substantial." LAO
specifically notes "the inclusion of a traumatic condition on
a victim under age 14 would appear to be broad enough to
affect a significant number of offenders."
2)The length-of-stay differential for offenders who would serve
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a 15- or 25-to-life sentence under current law, but would
serve LWOP under this bill. There is insufficient data to
determine the length-of-stay for lifers with the possibility
of parole, though clearly it will be shorter than LWOP, so
out-year costs would be significant.
3)State trial court costs as a result of more trials. Offenders
are not likely to plead to life. These costs could range into
the low tens of millions of dollars.
4)Potential for construction costs to house the increased
population. These one-time out-year costs could be in the low
hundreds of millions.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "[w]hile there are seemingly
tough laws on the books for sex offenders, current California
law does not acknowledge or adjust for the true nature of the
sexual violent predator that attacks children. Chelsea's law
isolates this uniquely dangerous predator and takes disciplined
steps to keep them away from our communities in a variety of
ways.
"Beginning with sentencing, our office believes that those have
committed the most serious and heinous sex crimes against
children are not able to be rehabilitated. Which is why under
our proposal, those who commit these crimes against children
will be locked up for LWOP.
"This will ensure that victims do not have to live in terror
that their attacker will be freed one day, and potential victims
will not be needlessly harmed by those who we know to be
extremely dangerous.
"Also under our proposal, those offenders who have committed a
forcible sex crime against a child, signaling an appetite to
prey on children, will be locked up for much longer than in
current law. In most cases, twice as long.
"We believe this is an important change because there currently
is no distinction between forcible and non-forcible sex crimes
on a child. A forcible sex crime, such as forcible child
molestation, involves 'violence, duress, menace, or fear of
immediate and unlawful bodily injury.' And while all sex crimes
are awful, these crimes are a red flag that the perpetrator is
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capable of much, much worse. And we should acknowledge that.
"This is why, under Chelsea's Law, these offenders will serve a
lifetime on parole if released, including effective global
positioning system (GPS) monitoring of their whereabouts.
"Also, Chelsea's Law will create 'safe zones.' Specifically, it
will now be a misdemeanor for a felony sex offender to loiter in
parks where children congregate - where they could otherwise
wait and target new victims.
"Testimony from corrections officials has stated that the
combination of these safe zones with GPS monitoring will allow
law enforcement officials to be immediately notified if the most
dangerous sex offenders have entered a park covered under our
law. And steps can be taken to remove them.
"We believe this combination of increased sentencing, enhanced
oversight, and the creation of safe zones will provide safety
for children and comfort for parents.
"The violent sexual predator that attacks children is a
particular type of evil and should be treated as such. AB 1844
ensures that those who commit a crime of this nature are
effectively kept from engaging in even more atrocious crimes
upon release, and that those who commit the worst violent sex
crimes against children are put away for life."
Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744
FN: 0006669