Child prostitutes in Alameda County and throughout the state will no longer be treated as criminals under a new law signed by Governor Schwarzenegger. When police pick up children younger than 18 who are suspected of being in the sex trade, they now will be required to identify and treat them as sexually exploited minors instead of criminals. The law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2009, will cover minors who are involved in prostitution, child pornography or human trafficking.
The law also creates a pilot program in Alameda County that will divert minors accused of soliciting an act of prostitution into supervised counseling and treatment programs. Under current law, minor-aged prostitutes would typically be charged as criminals and sent to juvenile hall. The program also implements standardized training on the sexual exploitation of minors, which will be made available to local law enforcement and criminal justice agencies throughout the county.
"This legislation is an important step forward because it expands victims rights, provides further protections and develops training for law enforcement to better assist victims of these horrific crimes," Schwarzenegger said in a written statement.
Alameda County District Attorney Sharmin Bock supported the bill. “There is an epidemic in this state in child prostitution which has created a class of bottom feeders or ‘sexual entrepreneurs.' Even drug dealers have found that child sexual exploitation is more lucrative and less risky than selling drugs.”
During the past several years, the sexual exploitation of minors has grown rapidly in Oakland, with children as young as 11 being sold on the streets and over the Internet for sex, police said. An Oakland Police Department report states that child prostitution has approached very high levels in that city. Despite the OPD dedicating money and forming a special investigative unit to target underage prostitution, “the problem has continued to worsen.”
Oakland, with its hundreds of foster care kids and abused children who have run away from home, is prime recruiting ground. The Internet, technology and cell phones also have made it easier for pimps to prey on children. Lt. Reid Lindblom of the Hayward Police Department says he began noticing more child prostitutes in Hayward two or three years ago. “We’ve seen girls 14, 15, 16 years old, on up to 18 years old,” he said.