California clash over child sex solicitation bill
15 videos • 277 views • by KCRA 3 KCRA 3 Capitol Correspondent Ashley Zavala has covered a two-year-long legislative debate on how to combat sex trafficking in California. A key issue has been whether people who buy trafficked teens for sex should face harsher consequences. Lawmakers last year approved a measure that went into effect this year to make it an automatic felony to purchase a child 15 years old and younger for sex. Those convicted must also register as sex offenders. Democrats last year agreed to leave 16 and 17-year-olds out of the new law, instead leaving it up to prosecutors to decide if the buyers should face a misdemeanor or felony. Unlike the younger teens, the law requires the 16- and 17-year-olds to prove they're victims of trafficking. Democratic Sacramento Assemblymember Maggy Krell this year attempted to loop the 16- and 17-year-olds into the law that applies to the younger teens. That has led to pushback among opponents of the approach. This comes after KCRA 3 detailed the problem of sex trafficking in Sacramento with our documentary "Escaping the Blade."