BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �







                      SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
                            Senator Loni Hancock, Chair              S
                             2013-2014 Regular Session               B

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          SB 982 (Huff)                                               
          As Amended: April 9, 2014 
          Hearing date:  April 22, 2014
          Penal Code
          JM:sl

                                     PROSTITUTION:
                               SOLICITATION FROM A MINOR

                                       HISTORY

          Source:  Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors

          Prior Legislation: AB 17 (Swanson) - Ch. 211, Stats. 2009
                       AB 12 (Swanson) Ch. 75, Stats. 2011

          Support: California Alliance of Child and Family Services;  
                   California Contract Cities Association; Crittenton  
                   Services for Children and Families; City of Long Beach;  
                   Conference of California Bar Associations; Numerous  
                   Private Individuals

          Opposition:California Attorneys for Criminal Justice; California  
                   Public Defenders Association; Taxpayers for Improving  
                   Public Safety


                                         KEY ISSUE
           
          SHOULD A PERSON WHO SEEKS TO PURCHASE OR PURCHASES AN ACT OF  
          PROSTITUTION FROM A MINOR BE GUILTY OF AN ALTERNATE  
          FELONY-MISDEMEANOR? 

          SHOULD A REPEATED CONVICTION OF THIS CRIME BE A STRAIGHT FELONY?



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                                       PURPOSE

          The purpose of this bill is to provide that soliciting an act of  
          prostitution from a minor, or engaging in an act of prostitution  
          with a minor, is an alternate felony-misdemeanor for a first  
          conviction and a straight felony for a repeated conviction.  
          
          Prostitution Offenses Generally
           
          Existing law  provides that prostitution involves any lewd act  
          between persons for money or other consideration.  (Pen. Code �  
          647, subd. (b); CALCRIM 1154)
           
          Existing  decisional law defines a lewd act as "touching the  
          genitals, buttocks, or female breast of either the prostitute or  
          customer with some part of the other person's body for the  
          purpose of sexual arousal or gratification." (CALCRIM 1154,  
          citing Pryor v. Municipal Court (1979) 25 Cal.3d 238, 256; See,  
          Wooten v. Superior Court (2001) 93 Cal.App.4th 422, pp.  
          431-433.)  
           
          Existing law  provides that any person who solicits, agrees to  
          engage in, or engages in an act of prostitution is guilty of a  
          misdemeanor.  The crime includes an element that the defendant  
          specifically intended to engage in an act of prostitution and  
          some act was done in furtherance of the agreed upon act.  (Pen.  
          Code � 647, subd. (b).)

           Existing law  provides that where any person is convicted for a  
          second prostitution offense, the person shall serve a sentence  
          of at least 45 days, no part of which can be suspended or  
          reduced by the court regardless of whether or not the court  
          grants probation. (Pen. Code � 647, subd. (k).)

           Existing law  provides that where any person is convicted for a  
          third prostitution offense, the person shall serve a sentence of  
          at least 90 days, no part of which can be suspended or reduced  
          by the court regardless of whether or not the court grants  
          probation. (Pen. Code � 647, subd. (k).)



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           Existing law  provides that where a defendant is convicted of a  
          prostitution offense in which the defendant sought to procure or  
          procured the "sexual services of a prostitute who was a minor,  
          the following shall apply:

           The defendant shall, in addition to any other fine or penalty,  
            be ordered to pay up to $25,000; and,
             
           Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the proceeds of the  
            fine shall "be available to fund programs and services for  
            commercially sexually exploited minors in the counties" of  
            conviction.  (Pen. Code �� 261.9 and 647, subd. (b).)

          Sex Crimes Against or Involving Minors
          
           Existing law  provides that a minor cannot consent to a sexual  
          act, including sexual intercourse, oral copulation, sodomy,  
          sexual penetration with a foreign or unknown object, or lewd  
          conduct.  (Pen. Code �� 261.5, 286, 288, 288a, and 289, in  
          relevant part.)

           Existing law  provides that sexual intercourse with a minor where  
          no aggravating elements are proved is the crime of "unlawful  
          sexual intercourse," punishable as follows:

                 Where the person having intercourse with the minor is no  
               more than three years older or younger than the minor, the  
               offense is a misdemeanor, with a maximum jail term of 6  
               months.
                 Where the person is at least three years older than the  
               minor, the offense is an alternate felony-misdemeanor  
               (wobbler), with a maximum misdemeanor term of one year and  
               a felony jail term of 16 months, two years or three years.

                 Where the person is at least 21 and the minor under 16  
               years of age, the offense is a wobbler, with a felony jail  
               term of 2, 3 or 4 years.  (Pen. Code � 261.5.)
           
          Existing law  provides that in the absence of aggravating  
          elements each crime of sodomy, oral copulation or penetration  



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          with a foreign or unknown object with a minor is punishable as  
          follows:

                 Where the defendant is over 21 and the minor under 16  
               years of age, the offense is a felony, with a prison term  
               of 16 months, 2 years or 3 years.

                 In other cases sodomy with a minor is a wobbler, with a  
               felony prison term of 16 months, 2 years or 3 years.  (Pen.  
               Code �� 286, subd. (b), 288a, subd. (b), 289, subd.  (h).)

           Existing law  provides that where each crime of sodomy, oral  
          copulation or penetration with a foreign or unknown object with  
          a minor who is under 14 and the perpetrator is more than 10  
          years older than the minor, the offense is a felony, punishable  
          by a prison term of 3, 6 or 8 years.  (Pen. Code �� 286, subd.  
          (c)(1), 288a, subd. (c)(1), 289, subd. (j).)
           
          Existing law  specifically provides that sexual intercourse is  
          rape "[w]here a person is 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" perpetrator.  (Pen. Code � 261, subd. (a)(1).)
          
           Existing law  provides that any person who engages in lewd  
          conduct - any sexually motivated touching or a defined sex act -  
          with a child under the age of 14 is guilty of a felony,  
          punishable by a prison term of 3, 6 or 8 years.  Where the  
          offense involves force or coercion, the prison term is 5, 8 or  
          10 years. (Pen. Code � 288, subd. (b).)

           Existing law  provides that where any person who engages in lewd  
          conduct with a child who is 14 or 15 years old, and the person  
          is at least 10 years older than the child, the person is guilty  
          of an alternate felony-misdemeanor, punishable by a jail term of  
          up to one year, a fine of up to $1,000, or both, or by a prison  
          term of 16 months, two years or three years and a fine of up  
          $10,000. (Pen. Code � 288, subd. (c)(1).)

           This bill  provides that a person who "seeks to procure or does  
          procure the sexual services" of a juvenile prostitute "in  



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          violation of subdivision (b) of Section 647" is guilty of an  
          alternate felony-misdemeanor for a first conviction and a felony  
          for a second or subsequent conviction.

           A first conviction is alternate felony-misdemeanor, punishable  
            by a jail term of up to six months, a fine of up to $1,000, or  
            both, or by a felony jail term (Pen. Code � 1170, subd. (h))  
            of 16 months, two years or three years and a fine of up to  
            $10,000.

           A second or subsequent conviction is a felony, punishable by a  
            felony jail term (Pen. Code � 1170, subd. (h)) and a fine of  
            up to $10,000.  

           This bill  provides that it shall only apply to the person in a  
          prostitution offense who agrees to provide anything of value to  
          a minor in exchange for a sex act or provided something of value  
          to a minor in exchange for a sex act.

                    RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION

          For the last several years, severe overcrowding in California's  
          prisons has been the focus of evolving and expensive litigation  
          relating to conditions of confinement.  On May 23, 2011, the  
          United States Supreme Court ordered California to reduce its  
          prison population to 137.5 percent of design capacity within two  
          years from the date of its ruling, subject to the right of the  
          state to seek modifications in appropriate circumstances.   

          Beginning in early 2007, Senate leadership initiated a policy to  
          hold legislative proposals which could further aggravate the  
          prison overcrowding crisis through new or expanded felony  
          prosecutions.  Under the resulting policy, known as "ROCA"  
          (which stands for "Receivership/ Overcrowding Crisis  
          Aggravation"), the Committee held measures that created a new  
          felony, expanded the scope or penalty of an existing felony, or  
          otherwise increased the application of a felony in a manner  
          which could exacerbate the prison overcrowding crisis.  Under  
          these principles, ROCA was applied as a content-neutral,  
          provisional measure necessary to ensure that the Legislature did  
          not erode progress towards reducing prison overcrowding by  



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          passing legislation, which would increase the prison population.  
            

          In January of 2013, just over a year after the enactment of the  
          historic Public Safety Realignment Act of 2011, the State of  
          California filed court documents seeking to vacate or modify the  
          federal court order requiring the state to reduce its prison  
          population to 137.5 percent of design capacity.  The State  
          submitted that the, ". . .  population in the State's 33 prisons  
          has been reduced by over 24,000 inmates since October 2011 when  
          public safety realignment went into effect, by more than 36,000  
          inmates compared to the 2008 population . . . , and by nearly  
          42,000 inmates since 2006 . . . ."  Plaintiffs opposed the  
          state's motion, arguing that, "California prisons, which  
          currently average 150% of capacity, and reach as high as 185% of  
          capacity at one prison, continue to deliver health care that is  
          constitutionally deficient."  In an order dated January 29,  
          2013, the federal court granted the state a six-month extension  
          to achieve the 137.5 % inmate population cap by December 31,  
          2013.  

          The Three-Judge Court then ordered, on April 11, 2013, the state  
          of California to "immediately take all steps necessary to comply  
          with this Court's . . . Order . . . requiring defendants to  
          reduce overall prison population to 137.5% design capacity by  
          December 31, 2013."  On September 16, 2013, the State asked the  
          Court to extend that deadline to December 31, 2016.  In  
          response, the Court extended the deadline first to January 27,  
          2014 and then February 24, 2014, and ordered the parties to  
          enter into a meet-and-confer process to "explore how defendants  
          can comply with this Court's June 20, 2013 Order, including  
          means and dates by which such compliance can be expedited or  
          accomplished and how this Court can ensure a durable solution to  
          the prison crowding problem."

          The parties were not able to reach an agreement during the  
          meet-and-confer process.  As a result, the Court ordered  
          briefing on the State's requested extension and, on February 10,  
          2014, issued an order extending the deadline to reduce the  
          in-state adult institution population to 137.5% design capacity  
          to February 28, 2016.  The order requires the state to meet the  



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          following interim and final population reduction benchmarks:

                 143% of design bed capacity by June 30, 2014;
                 141.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2015; and,
                 137.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2016.

          If a benchmark is missed the Compliance Officer (a position  
          created by the February 10, 2016 order) can order the release of  
          inmates to bring the State into compliance with that benchmark.   


          In a status report to the Court dated February 18, 2014, the  
          state reported that as of February 12, 2014, California's 33  
          prisons were at 144.3 percent capacity, with 117,686 inmates.   
          8,768 inmates were housed in out-of-state facilities.

          The ongoing prison overcrowding litigation indicates that prison  
          capacity and related issues concerning conditions of confinement  
          remain unresolved.  While real gains in reducing the prison  
          population have been made, even greater reductions may be  
          required to meet the orders of the federal court.  Therefore,  
          the Committee's consideration of ROCA bills -bills that may  
          impact the prison population - will be informed by the following  
          questions:

                 Whether a measure erodes realignment and impacts the  
               prison population;
                 Whether a measure addresses a crime which is directly  
               dangerous to the physical safety of others for which there  
               is no other reasonably appropriate sanction; 
                 Whether a bill corrects a constitutional infirmity or  
               legislative drafting error; 
                 Whether a measure proposes penalties which are  
               proportionate, and cannot be achieved through any other  
               reasonably appropriate remedy; and,
                 Whether a bill addresses a major area of public safety  
               or criminal activity for which there is no other  
               reasonable, appropriate remedy.






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                                      COMMENTS

          1.  Need for this Bill  

          According to the author:

               The Protected Innocence Challenge Report gives  
               California a failing grade because penalties for  
               solicitation of a minor are not making a dent in sex  
               trafficking.  Prosecutors can charge persons who  
               solicit or pay for the sexual services of a minor with  
               a felony if the minor is age 15 or younger.  However,  
               where the minor is 16 or 17 years of age, buyers, or  
               "johns" often face minimal penalties and return to  
               their lives virtually unscathed, while the children  
               they exploit are shattered and denied justice.   
               Because California has failed to make the actions of  
               the buyer a serious crime, solicitation of a minor  
               will continue to be viewed as a mere "vice" crime,  
               rather than rape and sexual abuse of a child.  Until  
               the law is changed we are perpetuating the  
               exploitation of children caught in a web of sexual and  
               financial slavery they cannot easily escape.

               Sweden's landmark legislation 1999 criminalizing sex  
               buyers resulted in a significant decrease in  
               trafficking - from 13.6% to less than 8%.   Sweden now  
               has the least trafficking victims in the European  
               Union.  Many other states are drafting their own  
               version of the Swedish model to combat sex  
               trafficking.

               According to the LA Times, May 31, 2012, "When the Los  
               Angeles County Probation Department ?analyzed arrests  
               for prostitution, they found that underage sex  
               trafficking is a not only a Third World problem.  In  



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               2010, 174 prostitution cases referred to the  
               department involved girls under the age of 18.   
               Another 2,351 involved 18-to-24-year-olds.  Statistics  
               paint a grim picture of poverty and troubled family  
               lives."  With the pervasive use of the Internet and  
               public transportation, children can be bought and sold  
               across state and international borders with ease.   
               This is our modern day form of slavery [that] inflicts  
               life-long psychological, emotional and physical  
               damage.  

               SB 982 will enable prosecutors to obtain felony  
               convictions for persons who solicit sex from minors,  
               including minors who are 16 or 17.  Specifically, SB  
               982 will make it an alternate felony-misdemeanor,  
               punishable by a felony jail term of 16 months, 2 years  
               or 3 years, or a misdemeanor jail term, for anyone who  
               seeks to procure or procures the sexual services of a  
               juvenile prostitute.  A repeated conviction will be a  
               straight felony.  SB 982 sends a strong message that  
               prostitution of children at any age in California will  
               be met with the just and serious punishment that fits  
               the crime.



          2.  References to "Procuring the Sexual Services of a Prostitute"  
            in the Bill and Existing Law  

          Existing law provides that it is a misdemeanor to solicit, agree  
          to engage in, or engage in an act of prostitution.  An act of  
          prostitution includes any lewd act between persons for money or  
          other consideration.  This bill amends a Penal Code section  
          (261.9)  that requires imposition of a fine of up to $25,000 if  
          the defendant is convicted "procuring or attempting to procure  
          the sexual services of a prostitute in violation of subdivision  
          (b) of [Penal Code] Section 647 " where the "prostitute" was  
          under the age of 18.  The use of the term "procure" is confusing  
          in the context of purchasing sex acts.  To procure has been used  
          over time to refer to hiring another person to obtain the  
          services of a prostitute or placing a person in a house of  



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          prostitution.  That is, procurement is used in the context of  
          pimping,<1> pandering and related conduct.  (Pen. Code ��  
          266-266a.)  A statute intended to punish purchasers of sex acts  
          that is phrased in terms of procuring prostitution is subject to  
          challenge as unconstitutionally vague, meaning an average person  
          cannot understand what the statute prohibits.  (Lanzetta v. New  
          Jersey (1939) 306 U.S. 451, 453; People v. McCoy (2002) 27  
          Cal.4th 601, 634.)

          To eliminate confusion and ambiguity in the statute amended by  
          this bill, the bill was recently amended to specifically and  
          separately define a crime committed by the person who purchased  
          or offered to purchase sex from a minor.  The bill essentially  
          creates a felony for a person who affirmatively seeks commercial  
          sex from a minor.  The amendments make the same changes to the  
          existing provisions authorizing a court to impose a $25,000  
          special fine on a person who offers to purchase or purchases a  
          commercial sex act from a minor.  

          However, as amended on April 9, 2014, the bill does not appear  
          to include circumstances where the defendant agreed to engage in  
          an act of prostitution, but did not make the initial  
          solicitations.  Where a minor solicits the adult defendant, the  
          defendant would only be guilty of the crime defined by this bill  
          if he actually followed through and engaged in a lewd act with  
          the minor in exchange for money.  
            
          SHOULD THE BILL BE AMENDED TO INCLUDE CASES WHERE THE DEFENDANT  
          AGREED TO ENGAGE IN AN ACT OF PROSTITUTION WITH A MINOR, BUT DID  
          NOT MAKE THE INITIAL SOLICITATION?

          3.  No Requirement that the Defendant Knew or Should have Known  
            that the Person Solicited for Commercial Sex was a Minor  

          Scienter 
          
          This bill states that where the defendant is convicted engaging  
          in or offering to engage in an act of prostitution with a minor,  
          the defendant is guilty of an alternate felony-misdemeanor.  The  
          ---------------------------
          <1> The statutory definition of pimping is deriving income from  
          the earnings of a prostitute.  (Pen. Code � 266h.)


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          crime is a straight felony in repeated convictions. 

          The bill does not appear to require that the defendant knew, or  
          should have known, that the prostitute involved in the incident  
          was a minor.  A defendant who was not intending to purchase sex  
          specifically from a minor could engage with a 16 or 17-year-old  
          minor who appeared to be an adult.  In such circumstances, a  
          defendant would not have intended to exploit minors or known  
          that he was exploiting a minor for sexual services. 

          The bill could be amended to include an element that the  
          defendant knew or should have known that the person with whom  
          the defendant engaged in or agreed to engage in an act of  
          prostitution was a minor, or that the defendant intended to  
          engage in an act of prostitution with a minor.  

          SHOULD THE BILL INCLUDE A REQUIREMENT THAT THE DEFENDANT KNEW OR  
          SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT THE OTHER PERSON INVOLVED IN A  
          PROSTITUTION OFFENSE WAS A MINOR?

          Cases where the Adult Defendant Intended to Purchase Sex from a  
          Minor, but was Dealing with a Law Enforcement Decoy
          
          The other circumstances left unaddressed by this bill is a case  
          where the defendant actually intended to purchase sex from a  
          minor, believed he solicited or agreed to pay for sex with a  
          minor, but did not do so.  Defendants are often arrested in  
          prostitution offenses in law enforcement stings in which a law  
          enforcement officer poses as a prostitute.  Where the defendant  
           clearly intended to purchase sex from a minor and believed he  
          was doing so, but was actually negotiating with a  
          young-appearing adult police decoy, he would not be guilty under  
          the provisions of this bill as drafted.

          This issue would most often arise in prostitution sting cases  
          carried out through the Internet.  Arguably, a man who regularly  
          uses the Internet to seek out juvenile prostitutes is much more  
          dangerous and culpable than a man who, perhaps on a single  
          occasion, drove through a stroll area and solicited or was  
          solicited by a young prostitute, especially where the prostitute  
          does not appear to be a minor.  



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          SHOULD THE BILL BE AMENDED TO APPLY TO CASES WHERE THE DEFENDANT  
          INTENDED TO PURCHASE SEX FROM A MINOR, BELIEVED HE WAS DEALING  
          WITH A MINOR, BUT ACTUALLY DEALT WITH A POLICE DECOY?

          4.  Soliciting an Act of Prostitution from a Minor or Engaging in  
            an Act of Prostitution with a Minor Constitutes an Attempted  
            or Completed Sex Crime  

          Minors cannot consent to sexual acts.  Soliciting sexual  
          intercourse or other defined sex acts from a minor would  
          constitute attempted sex crimes.  

          Any sexually motivated touching of a child under the age of 14  
          years is a felony, punished by a prison term of three, six or  
          eight years.  Sexually motivated touching of a minor who is 14  
          or 15 years old by a person at least 10 years older than the  
          minor is an alternate felony misdemeanor form of lewd conduct,  
          with a felony prison term of one, two or three years.<2>  (Pen.  
          Code � 288, subd. (c).) Soliciting an act of prostitution from a  
          minor under the age of 16, as it includes the intent to engage  
          in sexual conduct and some act toward realizing that intent,  
          would generally constitute an attempt<3> to commit lewd conduct,  
          punished by a prison term of 18 months, three years or four  
          years. (Pen. Code � 288, subd. (b).)

          In cases where a defendant's conduct in seeking out a juvenile  
          for prostitution constitutes a completed or and attempted sex  
          crime, the defendant could be convicted of both the attempted or  
          completed sex crime and a prostitution offense, although he  
          could not likely be punished for both crimes.  A conviction for  
          both crimes would more accurately reflect the person's conduct  
          and criminal history.

          WOULD AN AGREEMENT TO PURCHASE SEX FROM A MINOR, OR AN EXCHANGE  
          ---------------------------
          <2> Generally, the prison "triad" is 16 months, two years or  
          three years, if a more specific penalty is not stated in the  
          governing statute.
          <3> The punishment for an attempted crime, with certain specific  
          exceptions, is one-half the punishment for the completed crime.   
          (Pen. Code � 664.)


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          OF MONEY OR OTHER THING OF VALUE FROM A MINOR, CONSTITUTE AN  
          ATTEMPTED OR COMPLETED SEX CRIME?  

          5.  Studies and Profiles of Commercially Sexually Exploited Youth  

          Recent years have seen a great increase in concerns about minors  
          - generally girls - engaged in commercial sex activities.   
          Organized, coerced trafficking has received the most attention.   
          Sex trafficking has been described as sexual slavery.   
          Trafficked minors are isolated, controlled by and made dependent  
          on their exploiters, and can even be perversely loyal because of  
          the manufactured dependency.<4>

          However, a 2008 study by the John Jay College of Criminal  
          Justice<5> and the Center for Court Innovation<6> found that  
          most of the minors engaging in commercial sex in New York City  
          are homeless or runaway minors who engage in "survival sex" to  
          obtain small amounts of money for food and other necessities.   
          Many of these CSEC - commercially sexually exploited children -  
          are gay, lesbian and transgender youth who left unsupportive  
          families and communities.  The study authors were surprised to  
          find that most of CSEC were recruited or initiated into survival  
          sex by their peers, with no involvement by adult pimps.  The  
          John Jay study reported that many CSEC were simply approached on  
          the street by would-be customers, without any solicitation by  
          the CSEC. Also surprising, there were as many male CSEC as  
          female in New York City. 

          Rachel Aviv's December 2012<7> profile of homeless young people  
          in the New Yorker magazine noted the results of the John Jay  
          study and then carefully documented the daily lives of a number  
          ---------------------------
          <4> Rachel Lloyd, Girls Like Us, pp.153-159, Harper Collins,  
          2011.)
          <5> https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/225083.pdf, pp.  
          48-49. 32-102.
          <6> http://www.courtinnovation.org/ - The New York Court System  
          research agency, with national and international consulting  
          project.
          <7>  
          http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/12/10/121210fa_fact_aviv? 
          currentPage=all&pink=HhM7xT


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          of homeless young people on the New York City streets.   They  
          often form loose communities for support.  They sometimes shared  
          repeat sex customers and money earned from commercial sex,  
          technically acting as pimps for each other.  Adults who purchase  
          sex from CSEC are certainly aware that they are taking advantage  
          of these children.  Some men use violence against the homeless  
          young people. 

          Aviv's profile documented that living on the streets and  
          engaging in survival sex is perilous.   The rate of HIV among  
          homeless youth is triple that of the general population.  Hunger  
          and illness are common and many show symptoms of psychiatric  
          disorders.  And there is the prospect of becoming chronically or  
          permanently homeless.   Aviv wrote:  "Samantha and Ryan were  
          both terrified of becoming 'lifers.'  They saw the signs in  
          their friends, who stopped trying to get job interviews, missed  
          appointments with caseworkers, and cycled in and out of  
          psychiatric hospitals or rehab centers, becoming accustomed to  
          people telling them what to do and when."

          6.  Girls Courts and other Programs for Minors Engaged in  
          Prostitution 

          The New Yorker profile noted above described a patchwork of  
          services that are not coordinated or comprehensive.  As the CSEC  
          told Aviv, they are constantly in danger of becoming "lifers" on  
          the street, with the attendant harms of that life.  The John Jay  
          study may not reflect the populations of CSEC in cities and  
          areas other than New York.  However, the study does indicate  
          that relying on enforcement of laws against human trafficking  
          and pimping to address CSEC problems will still leave  
          substantial numbers of minors on the street and exploited for  
          sexual commerce.
            
          Collaborative Courts
          
          There has been a growing awareness of the value of special  
          juvenile courts for the girls found to be involved in commercial  






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          sex.<8>  These courts have been implemented in Alameda County  
          and Los Angeles is expanding a pilot program.  It has been  
          argued that treating juvenile prostitution as a crime problem  
          does little or nothing to address the underlying circumstances  
          that bring minors to engage in commercial sex.  

          Special collaborative courts can organize and monitor  
          supervision and treatment of CSEC girls.  Special STAR  
          (Succeeding through Achievement and Resilience) courts have been  
          implemented in Los Angeles as a pilot project that is reportedly  
          being expanded.<9>  Alameda County has established an extensive  
          Girls Court.  New York has created a network of 11 Human  
          Trafficking Intervention Courts for juveniles who are at least  
          16 years old.<10>  

          It appears that collaborative courts for minors caught up in  
          sexual commerce have focused almost exclusively on girls.   
          However, the John Jay study and the New Yorker investigative  
          article indicate that there are a substantial number of boys and  
          transgender youth who are CSEC.  

          Arguably, collaborative courts should be organized or designed  
          to handle whatever populations of CSEC are present in the  
          community of the court or courts. 













                                                                     (More)







          ---------------------------
          <8>  
          http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/29/us/a-courts-all-hands-approach- 
          aids-girls-most-at-risk.html?_r=0
          <9> http://file.lacounty.gov/bos/supdocs/70403.pdf
          <10>  
          http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/29/us/a-courts-all-hands-approach- 
          aids-girls-most-at-risk.html?_r=0





                                                              SB 982 (Huff)
                                                                      PageP

          Comprehensive Programs for Commercially Sexually Exploited Youth
          
          The Center for Court Innovation participated in a project and  
          study for addressing and ameliorating the problems of homeless  
          and exploited youth. The project encountered setbacks and  
          limitations and identified effective strategies.<11>

                 Effective strategies were identified and implemented:
                  o         Consistent, coordinated and adequately funded  
                    prosecution strategies targeting exploiters;
                  o         Comprehensive and coordinated and funded  
                    programs for CSEC, especially housing and appropriate  
                    counseling and intervention; and,
                  o         Sustained prevention programs, including a  
                    need for research on effective programs.

                 Setbacks and limitations:
                  o         inconsistent leadership;
                  o         insufficient data; and, 
                  o         outside pressures pulling participating  
                    agencies away.


                                   ***************
          

          











          ---------------------------
          <11>  
          http://www.courtinnovation.org/sites/default/files/CSEC_NYC_Volum 
          e2.pdf