By Khalida Sarwari
A state legislative committee this week passed a bill that takes away the anonymity of juvenile sex offenders and increases the jail time of minors who share pictures or texts of a sex crime.
The Assembly Public Safety Committee unanimously passed Senate Bill 838–called Audrie’s Law–on June 24, a week after the committee postponed a vote to work with state Sen. Jim Beall, who authored the bill, on amending it.
According to Ed Vasquez, a spokesman for the Pott family attorney Robert Allard, the bill passed without the provision that would have required judges to impose a mandatory two-year sentence on minors who are convicted of sexually abusing unconscious and disabled victims.
The bill has two other components, both of which received support from lawmakers.
Audrie’s Law adds a sentencing enhancement of one year to any sexual assault in which the offender shares pictures or texts of the crime. Additionally, juvenile sex crime court proceedings would be open to the public and the media.
“Audrie’s Law, even after these modifications, is still a step in the right direction and will surely make our community a safer place for our young kids,” Vasquez said.
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen released a statement commenting on the passage of Audrie’s Law.
“Audrie’s Law modernizes the consequences for those who sexually assault intoxicated, incapacitated and handicapped victims,” Rosen said. “The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office stands alongside the Pott family and state Sen. Jim Beall in their efforts to create positive and reasonable changes from the pain of Audrie’s tragedy.”
The bill is named after Audrie Pott, a Saratoga girl who took her own life a week after attending a Labor Day weekend party in 2012 where she was sexually assaulted by three classmates while unconscious. The boys later texted photos of the incident to other students.
The boys, whose names haven’t been released because they are minors, later admitted to sexually assaulting Audrie and were ordered to serve 30 to 45 days in juvenile hall.
Vasquez said prior to the committee’s vote this week, the Pott’s attorney offered to compromise with lawmakers by reducing the two-year minimum to one year and including mandatory counseling of juvenile sex offenders.
“The solution we proposed and the compromise we offered would have ensured that these self-admitted sexual assaulters would have received at least one year in a juvenile setting while at the same time getting sexual abuse treatment,” Vasquez said. “They instead got a slap on the wrist and no treatment whatsoever.”
The bill must pass by June 30 to become law. The district attorney said he is “hopeful that the entire California Legislature will keep the 15-year-old girl’s memory close in their hearts and her legacy in mind when Audrie’s Law is presented for a final vote.”
Public safety committee passes Audrie’s Law, but with amendments
