Calif. Governor Signs Immunity from Prostitution Arrest Bill, Sex Workers Applaud

SAN FRANCISCO – The Erotic Service Providers Legal, Education and Research Project (ESPLERP) issued a statement Tuesday applauding California Governor Gavin Newsom for signing Senate Bill 233 into law. The bill amends existing law to prohibit the arrest of a person for a misdemeanor violation of the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act (CUCSA) or specified sex work crimes, if that person is reporting they are a victim of, or a witness to, specified crimes. The law also declares that possession of condoms in any amount does not provide a basis for probable cause for arrest for specified sex work crimes.

“I was violently assaulted by a predator who targeted prostitutes in 2012,” said Reada Wong in ESPLERP’s statement. “But when the police found out that I was a prostitute, they lost interest, demeaned me, and threatened to charge me. And then, much later, when the guy was finally charged, he pled guilty. If the police and district attorney had done their jobs when I first reported the assault, the predator wouldn’t have still been out there to assault other women.”

One of Wong’s peers, Veronica Monet, reported a similarly deplorable response from law enforcement to a rape she tried to report back in 2001.

“I was raped by a client in 2001,” Monet said. “Three weeks later, he stabbed a young woman in the face when she resisted. We were sharing information online so we knew he was a dangerous serial rapist. But when I reported him to the Oakland Police Department they wanted to arrest me for getting raped, because I admitted that I was a prostitute. Then, after three years of pressure on then Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, I was finally allowed to report this rape without threat of being arrested myself. However, the police still made no attempt to contact this violent predator’s other victims, and he was neither questioned or apprehended. As a result, he is still out there to this day, and remains a serious threat to the safety of all women.”

The revisions to California law should make reporting such crimes easier for victims and witnesses in the state who happen to be sex workers, or who have committed a misdemeanor violation of CUSCA, removing the threat of arrest for very minor crimes when a person is seeking to report a far more serious one.

Section 1162 of the Evidence Code has been amended to read: “Evidence that a victim of, or a witness to, a serious felony as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 1192.7 of, an assault in violation of subdivision (a) of Section 245 of, domestic violence in violation of Section 273.5 of, extortion in violation of Section 518 of, human trafficking in violation of Section 236.1 of, sexual battery in violation of subdivision (a) of Section 243.4 of, or stalking in violation of Section 646.9 of, the Penal Code, has engaged in an act of prostitution at or around the time they were the victim of or witness to the crime is inadmissible in a separate prosecution of that victim or witness to prove criminal liability for the act of prostitution.”

The measure also repeals Section 782.1 of the California Evidence Code and replaces it with verbiage that reads “The possession of a condom is not admissible as evidence in the prosecution of a violation of Section 372 of, subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 647 of, or Section 653.22 of, the Penal Code, if the offense is related to prostitution.”

Finally, a new section, 647.3, has been added to California’s Penal Code. The new section reads as follows:

“Evidence that a victim of, or a witness to, a serious felony as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 1192.7 of, an assault in violation of subdivision (a) of Section 245 of, domestic violence in violation of Section 273.5 of, extortion in violation of Section 518 of, human trafficking in violation of Section 236.1 of, sexual battery in violation of subdivision (a) of Section 243.4 of, or stalking in violation of Section 646.9 of, the Penal Code, has engaged in an act of prostitution at or around the time they were the victim of or witness to the crime is inadmissible in a separate prosecution of that victim or witness to prove criminal liability for the act of prostitution.

(a) A person who reports being a victim of, or a witness to, a serious felony as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 1192.7, an assault in violation of subdivision (a) of Section 245, domestic violence in violation of Section 273.5, extortion in violation of Section 518, human trafficking in violation of Section 236.1, sexual battery in violation of subdivision (a) of Section 243.4, or stalking in violation of Section 646.9 shall not be arrested for any of the following offenses if that offense is related to the crime that the person is reporting or if the person was engaged in that offense at or around the time that the person was the victim of or witness to the crime they are reporting:

(1) A misdemeanor violation of the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 11000) of the Health and Safety Code).

(2) A violation of Section 372, subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 647, or Section 653.22, if the offense is related to an act of prostitution.

(b) Possession of condoms in any amount shall not provide a basis for probable cause for arrest for a violation of Section 372, subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 647, or Section 653.22 if the offense is related to an act of prostitution.”

Maxine Doogan of ESPLERP called the new law “important legislation.”

“We are very pleased to see Governor Newsom’s signature on a law which enables prostitutes to report rape and assault without fear of being arrested,” Doogan said. “And now we can do our part in helping the state get to zero HIV transmissions, a goal long held by the California Department of Public Health, without the fear of our carrying condoms being used as evidence for prostitution arrests.”