California’s new pedophilia law has caused a stir of misinformation online. Throughout Twitter and Facebook, people have been posting about this new law and how it ‘legalizes pedophilia,’ but this is simply not the case. California SB-145 states that “..exempts some people from being put on the sex offender list when having sex with a minor who is not more than 10 years younger” than them. This section of the law is what is causing a stir online and causing people to believe that pedophilia has become legalized. The bill seeks to treat all statutory rape cases equally, regardless of the minor’s gender.
What is California’s current statutory rape law?
Under California’s current statutory rape laws, judges have discretion over registering individuals as sex offenders if they have engaged in vaginal intercourse with a minor. This means if an underage person, between the ages of 14-17, has sex with someone within 10 years of their age, the judge has the discretion to put that person on the sex offender list. Currently, the law applies to PENILE and VAGINAL intercourse… not digital, oral, or anal penetration. So if a person has digital, oral, or anal sex with a minor, they will automatically be placed under the sex offender’s registry.
What does this new bill do for California?
SB-145 grants a judge discretion to put someone on the sex offender’s registry if they have oral, anal, or digital intercourse. In other words, a person is automatically placed on the sex offender’s list if they engage in oral, anal, or digital penetration. This can be viewed as extremely unfair to LGBTQ+ folks, who will automatically be placed on the sex offender’s registry when having intercourse with 2 males or 2 females, as these individuals don’t fit California’s current law of penile and vaginal intercourse. For example, under our current laws, a 19-year-old male could have sex with a 17-year-old female, and not be charged with statutory rape. However, if both parties were male, the 19-year-old would automatically be charged with statutory rape and be placed on the sex offender’s registry for life. The judge does not have discretion under these types of circumstances, which is why SB-145 was drafted and passed.
Misinformation online
People online are outraged over the age difference being allowed for intercourse- but the outrage is pointless. This bill does not legalize an 8-year-old having sex with an 18-year-old, or a 27-year-old having sex with a 17-year-old. Some Facebook posts have been circulating that claim that this bill ‘is now normalizing pedophilia and legalizing it.” Some other posts state that pedophilia could now be considered a sexual orientation in the LGBTQ+ community. This is simply not true. Most people on Facebook and Twitter are not attorneys and cannot read and understand how laws are written. SB-145 grants the judges DISCRETION to place an offender on the sex offender’s list. It does not legalize pedophilia in any way, shape, or form.
Senator Wiener drafted the bill, stating that California’s current law regarding statutory rape is unequal to LGBTQ+ individuals. As child sex trafficking is being brought more into the light, some conspiracy theory groups believe that people with power are trying to legalize pedophilia. Senator Wiener being a gay man, has already taken on some verbal attacks by people believing the Senator is a pedophile. Possibly because the Jeffery Epstein case is still prominent, conspiracy theorists are making bizarre connections. These people or comments do not help children, or to help stop statutory rape. Facebook posts like these take away from the actual cause.
Conclusion
To summarize, SB-145 grants a judge the option of discretion when deciding on statutory rape cases when there is up to a 10 year age difference. An 8-year-old could not have sex with an 18-year-old. The 8-year-old is not mentally capable of understanding what they would be engaging in. The most extreme case would theoretically be a 14-year-old having intercourse with a 24-year-old. Romeo and Juliet laws still apply throughout California, this bill does not change that or legalize pedophilia.
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