BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2058
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 18, 2006
Chief Counsel: Gregory Pagan
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Mark Leno, Chair
AB 2058 (Cohn) - As Amended: March 21, 2006
As Proposed to be Amended in Committee
SUMMARY : Creates an alternate felony/misdemeanor for an
employee or volunteer of a public or private school to commit
any lewd and lascivious act upon a minor who is 14, 15, 16, or
17 years of age who attends the same school at which the person
is employed or volunteers and the employer or volunteer is at
least five years older than the minor. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Provides that it is an alternate felony/misdemeanor punishable
by up to one year in the county jail or by imprisonment in the
state prison for one, two, or three years for an employee or
volunteer of a public or private school to commit any lewd and
lascivious act upon a minor who is 14, 15, 16, or 17 years of
age who attends the same school at which the person is
employed or volunteers and where the employer or volunteer is
at least five years older than the minor.
2)States that the above provision shall not preclude prosecution
under any other provision of law that provides for a greater
penalty.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that any person 21 years of age or older who engages
in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is
16 years of age or younger is guilty of either a misdemeanor
or a felony, and shall be punished by imprisonment in a county
jail not exceeding one year, or by imprisonment in the state
prison for two, three, or four years. [Penal Code Section
261.5 (d).]
2)Provides that any person who engages in an act of unlawful
sexual intercourse with a minor who is more than three years
younger than the perpetrator is guilty of a misdemeanor or
AB 2058
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felony punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not to
exceed one year or by imprisonment in the state prison for 16
months, 2 or 3 years. [Penal Code Section 261.5(c).]
3)Provides that any person who engages in an act of unlawful
sexual intercourse with a minor who is more than three years
younger than the perpetrator is guilty of a misdemeanor.
[Penal Code Section 261.5(c).]
4)Provides that any person who commits any lewd or lascivious
act upon a child under the age of 14 with the intent to arouse
the sexual passions of that person is guilty of a felony,
punishable by three, six, or eight years in the state prison.
[Penal Code Section 288(a).]
5)Provides that any person who commits any lewd or lascivious
act upon a child 14 or 15 years of age with the intent to
arouse the sexual passions of that person and where that
person is at least 10 years older than the child is guilty of
a public offense punishable by one, two, or three years in
prison, or by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than
one year. [Penal Code Section 288(c)(1).]
6)States that any person who lives with or has recurring access
to a child and engages in three or more acts of substantial
sexual conduct, or commits three or more acts of lewd and
lascivious conduct with a child under the age of 14 over a
period of at least three months time, is guilty of the felony
of continuous sexual abuse of a child, punishable by 6, 12, or
16 years in the state prison. (Penal Code Section 288.5.)
7)Provides that any person who commits lewd and lascivious acts
by use of force, violence, or fear of immediate and unlawful
bodily injury shall be punished by imprisonment in state
prison for three, six, or eight years. [Penal Code Section
288 (b).]
8)Provides that any person who commits rape, rape by foreign
object, forcible sodomy, forcible oral copulation, or forcible
sexual penetration with a child who is under 14 years of age
and is 10 or more years younger than the person shall be
punished by imprisonment in state prison for 15-years-to-life.
(Penal Code Section 269.)
9)Provides that any person who annoys or molests a child under
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the age of 18 shall be punished by imprisonment in the county
jail not to exceed one year; by a fine not to exceed $1,000;
or by both imprisonment and a fine. [Penal Code Section
647.6(a).]
10)Provides that any person who annoys or molests a child under
the age of 18, after having entered a dwelling house without
consent, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison
for 16 months, 2 or 3 years, or by imprisonment in the county
jail not to exceed one year. [Penal Code Section 647.6(b).]
11)Makes a second or subsequent conviction for annoying or
molesting a child under the age of 18 punishable by
imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, 2 or 3 years.
[Penal Code Section 647.6(c)(1).]
12)Provides that any person who annoys or molests a child under
the age of 18 after a previous felony conviction for the same
offense, lewd and lascivious acts on a child, or a felony
conviction for employing a minor to perform prohibited acts is
punishable by two, four, or six years in the state prison.
[Penal Code Section 647.6(c)(2).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement . According to the author, "There is such a
high degree of trust placed in school employees and such a
high degree of opportunity for that trust to be violated, it
is imperative there be a statute that prohibits sexual contact
of any kind between school employees and students. There are
many individuals that prey upon young teenagers. These
individuals have hundreds of victims and yet not face more
than county jail time upon conviction. This bill protects
minors age 14 to 17 by ensuring that those who commit lewd and
lascivious acts upon them are appropriately convicted as
felons."
2)Purpose of the Bill . Existing law provides that any person
who commits any lewd or lascivious act upon a child 14 or 15
years of age with the intent to arouse the sexual passions of
that person and where that person is at least 10 years older
than the child is guilty of a public offense punishable by
one, two, or three years in prison or by imprisonment in a
AB 2058
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county jail for not more than one year. [Penal Code Section
288(c)(1).] Existing law does not address a situation where
the victim of the abuse is 16 or 17 years of age.
This bill makes it an alternate felony/misdemeanor for an
employee or volunteer of a public or private school to commit
any lewd and lascivious act upon a minor who is 14, 15, 16, or
17 years of age who attends the same school at which the
person is employed or volunteers and the employer or volunteer
is at least five years older than the minor.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Santa Clara County District Attorney
California Peace Officers Association
California Protective Parents Association
Los Angeles County District Attorneys Association
Peace Officers Research Association
Opposition
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744