News/Commentary

Dems block felony charges for buyers of kids in gutted sex trafficking bill

April 29, 2025 | | Print Article

Critics are in an uproar over the California Democratic Party’s attempts to protect pedophile perpetrators from prosecution.

At issue is a proposed bill by state Assemblywoman Maggy Krell, a Democrat, to combat human trafficking.

The problem is that her fellow Democrats forced her to remove a clause from the bill that would have ensured that any adult who purchases sex from a 16-year-old or 17-year-old faces felony charges.

“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,” she explained in a tweet published Monday.

According to Sacramento station KCRA, it was specifically the Democrats in the Assembly’s Public Safety Committee that blocked the clause.

The only good news, according to Krell, is that the bill “still criminalizes the creeps who are loitering to buy teenagers for sex and sets up a fund to help victims.”

All this comes a year after state Sen. Shannon Grove, a Republican, introduced a bill to make it a felony for an adult to purchase anyone under the age of 18 for sex.

Like Krell, Grove was also forced to back down.

“Grove and other lawmakers in the Senate and Assembly last year struck what Democrats called ‘a deal’ and Grove called ‘an ultimatum’ to allow the felony charge to only apply to those who purchase children under the age of 16 for sex,” KCRA notes.

“For those who purchase 16 and 17-year-olds, those criminals could face either a misdemeanor or felony, leaving it up to local prosecutors to decide. The law also requires the older teens to prove they’re being trafficked,” the reporting continues.

Grove wasn’t pleased.

“It’s completely evil,” she told KCRA.

Krell feels similarly about what’s happened to her bill.

“I was told that it was pulled, and the only way I could get it back on the agenda is if parts of the bill would be blocked,” she said to KCRA. “It’s a disgrace.”

“I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and I’m not going to quit now. And I am going to bring this part of this bill back every year until I get the books to protect children. That’s what I’m going to do,” she added.

Republicans, meanwhile, remained stunned that there are people trying to protect adults who purchase sex from 16 and 17-year-olds.

The public has also weighed in, arguing that the priorities of California’s Democrats (if not ALL Democrats) are very, very misplaced.

Look:

Vivek Saxena
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