A new bill would classify the rape of a developmentally disabled minor as a violent felony.
Asm. Tom Lackey (R–Palmdale) introduced Assembly Bill 38 this week to increase penalties on sexual predators.
Driving the news: Violent felonies in California include rape by force, violence, duress, menace, fear and by threat of violent retaliation as violent felonies.
- State law does not consider the rape of a person unable to give consent due to disability, rape under false pretenses or rape accomplished by threat of incarceration, arrest or deportation to be a violent felony.
The big picture: Lackey’s proposal would make it so predators who rape a minor who has a developmental disability would be hit with a violent felony.
Why it matters: A report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that from 2017 to 2019, people with disabilities were victims of rape and sexual assault over four times higher than people without disabilities.
What he’s saying: “This is a nightmare scenario – a child who already faces immense challenges being preyed upon by someone who exploits their innocence and vulnerability,” Lackey said. “If this isn’t a violent crime, what is?”
- Lackey said California’s leadership has repeatedly turned its backs on the state’s most vulnerable children, adding that protecting the vulnerable should not be partisan.
- “These children cannot speak for themselves, but their suffering necessitates action,” Lackey said. “It is our moral duty to act.”
Flashback: California Democrats have been hesitant to increase criminal penalties, an issue that Sen. Shannon Grove (R–Bakersfield) has run into in recent years.
- In Sep., Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 1414 into law, increasing penalties for people who solicit a child under the age of 16 for sex.
- But that wasn’t the original version of Grove’s bill, which was changed by Democrats to carve out an exemption for soliciting 16 and 17-year-olds.
