California Democrats Block Bill To Make Sex Trafficking of Children a Felony

Democrats hold supermajorities in both houses of the state legislature. They could have easily passed this into law. The Left Is Trying to Normalize Pedophilia

Republicans tried to push Democrats to increase penalties for soliciting 16- and 17-year-olds for sex or prostitution. That crime is a misdemeanor punishable by between two days to a year in jail. Solicitation involves asking for or arranging sex in exchange for money or something valuable; a host of other sex crimes involving minors of any age are felonies, including paying for and having sex with a minor. This time, Republicans had the backing of freshman Democratic Assemblymember Maggy Krell, of Sacramento, who authored Assembly Bill 379. Krell objected on Tuesday when her colleagues removed the provision on soliciting older minors, saying fellow Democrats had forced her to agree to it on the threat the Public Safety committee would refuse to hold a hearing otherwise (Cal Matters).

CA Democrats gutted AB 379, a bill that would’ve made it a felony to buy 16- & 17-year-olds for sex.

The bill’s own author, Asm. Maggy Krell (D), voted NO after Dem leadership forced watered-down amendments.

Watch the 7-min highlight of the explosive 1-hour debate: pic.twitter.com/rRANFjqaQA

— CA Family Council (@CAFamily) May 5, 2025

Democrats are looking to water it down: CA Democrats gutted AB 379, a bill that would’ve made it a felony to buy 16- & 17-year-olds for sex. The bill’s own author, Asm. Maggy Krell (D), voted NO after Dem leadership forced watered-down amendments. Watch the 7-min highlight of the explosive 1-hour debate (California Family Council).

Author of California child sex trafficking bill forced to exclude felony charge for buyers of teen victims
Assembly Bill 379 seeks to align the penalties for sex traffickers with the consumers

By Louis Casiano, Fox News, April 28, 2025 9:59pm EDT

Country music star John Rich joins ‘America’s Newsroom’ to discuss his recent partnership with the Department of Homeland Security aiming to fight ‘sextortion’ on social media platforms.

A California human trafficking bill to combat child sex trafficking is being gutted with the reluctant agreement of the bill’s author to remove a provision that targets consumers in an effort to get the legislation passed.

State Assemblywoman Maggy Krell, a Democrat, agreed to remove a clause from Assembly Bill 379 that states buyers of 16 and 17-year-olds for sex would face felony charges, leaving the solicitation of those minors by adults to be treated as a misdemeanor.

“In order to get a hearing on the bill, we were forced to remove the piece of the bill that ensures the crime of purchasing a minor for sex applies in all cases where the victim is under the age of 18,” Krell told Fox News Digital.

A view of the California state capitol building on National Urban League California Legislative Advocacy Day on March 13, 2024 in Sacramento, California. (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for National Urban League)

“I wholeheartedly disagree with that amendment,” she added. “This has been my life’s work and I will continue to partner with sex trafficking survivors and law enforcement to ensure all minors are protected from the horrors of sex trafficking.”

Krell noted that the bill still criminalizes “the creeps who are loitering to buy teenagers for sex and sets up a fund to help victims. Those will be powerful tools in the fight against sex trafficking — it’s a good start.”

California Assembly Republicans quickly criticized Democrats over the change.

“Why are some @AssemblyDems planning to cut felony charges for adults who buy 16- and 17-year-olds for sex?,” California Assembly Republicans posted on X. “There are no excuses. Protect the kids. Not the predators.”

Earlier, media reports stated that lawmakers wanted to hold off on the bill and possibly hold information hearings on the issue in the fall.

The bill came together after older teens were left out of a state law that went into effect this year that makes it a felony to purchase a child, ages 15 and younger for sex. Last year, California State Sen. Shannon Grove authored a bill that made it illegal to buy minors for sex, but it excluded 16 and 17 year-olds.