Convicts Using Cameras to Illicitly Exploit Californians Still Not Required to Register as Sex Offen
California Political Desk
March 04, 2010
SACRAMENTO – Criminals convicted of using hidden cameras to invade the privacy of unsuspecting Californians for their own sexual gratification will still not be required to register as sex offenders, after a bill to place them on the state database was defeated today by Democrats on the Assembly Public Safety Committee.
"A sexual predator can take a cell phone camera, film up the skirt of a young girl, and have it distributed to millions on the internet in the blink of an eye. Every parent in California would want to know if any adult their child comes in contact with was someone who had been convicted of this type of lewd behavior. A criminal convicted of this crime should absolutely be placed on the state sex offender database," said Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore, the bill´s author. "In the technology age we live in, we need to send a strong message to would-be sex offenders that brazen invasions of privacy will not be tolerated, and there will be consequences."
Assembly Bill 1688 (Jeffries) would have required persons convicted of using hidden cameras to secretly record, videotape or photograph the body or undergarments of an unsuspecting person, without his or her consent, to register as a sex offender on the California Department of Justice´s database. Only perpetrators convicted of a misdemeanor under current law and proven to have invaded privacy and recorded for sexual gratification would be required to register as a sex offender.
In killing the bill, Assembly Public Safety Committee Chair and San Francisco Democrat Tom Ammiano argued that there are too many people required to register as sex offenders now, and that many are unfairly stigmatized for life. Chairman Ammiano also incorrectly suggested that the measure would elevate the crime to a felony, and contribute to prison overcrowding. The Riverside County District Attorneys Association and others in support noted that because the underlying offense is a misdemeanor, the penalty for failure to register as a sex offender would also have been a misdemeanor, leading to minimal costs and no impact on overcrowding.
"The bill proposed today was a common-sense protection against sex predators who are intent on blatantly violating their victims´ privacy," said Curt Hagman (R-Chino Hills), Assembly Public Safety Committee Vice Chair. "The reasonableness of what was proposed, and the absurdity of the objections, reinforce long-standing concerns that Democrats on this committee are more interested in killing strong public safety bills and protecting the rights of criminals than making our streets safer."
Assembly Public Safety Committee Votes on Assembly Bill 1688:
Ayes
Asm. Curt Hagman (Vice-Chair), R-Chino Hills
Asm. Danny Gilmore, R-Hanford
Noes
Asm. Tom Ammiano (Chair), D-San Francisco
Asm. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo
Asm. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley
Abstain
Asm. Warren Furutani, D-Long Beach
"A sexual predator can take a cell phone camera, film up the skirt of a young girl, and have it distributed to millions on the internet in the blink of an eye. Every parent in California would want to know if any adult their child comes in contact with was someone who had been convicted of this type of lewd behavior. A criminal convicted of this crime should absolutely be placed on the state sex offender database," said Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore, the bill´s author. "In the technology age we live in, we need to send a strong message to would-be sex offenders that brazen invasions of privacy will not be tolerated, and there will be consequences."
Assembly Bill 1688 (Jeffries) would have required persons convicted of using hidden cameras to secretly record, videotape or photograph the body or undergarments of an unsuspecting person, without his or her consent, to register as a sex offender on the California Department of Justice´s database. Only perpetrators convicted of a misdemeanor under current law and proven to have invaded privacy and recorded for sexual gratification would be required to register as a sex offender.
In killing the bill, Assembly Public Safety Committee Chair and San Francisco Democrat Tom Ammiano argued that there are too many people required to register as sex offenders now, and that many are unfairly stigmatized for life. Chairman Ammiano also incorrectly suggested that the measure would elevate the crime to a felony, and contribute to prison overcrowding. The Riverside County District Attorneys Association and others in support noted that because the underlying offense is a misdemeanor, the penalty for failure to register as a sex offender would also have been a misdemeanor, leading to minimal costs and no impact on overcrowding.
"The bill proposed today was a common-sense protection against sex predators who are intent on blatantly violating their victims´ privacy," said Curt Hagman (R-Chino Hills), Assembly Public Safety Committee Vice Chair. "The reasonableness of what was proposed, and the absurdity of the objections, reinforce long-standing concerns that Democrats on this committee are more interested in killing strong public safety bills and protecting the rights of criminals than making our streets safer."
Assembly Public Safety Committee Votes on Assembly Bill 1688:
Ayes
Asm. Curt Hagman (Vice-Chair), R-Chino Hills
Asm. Danny Gilmore, R-Hanford
Noes
Asm. Tom Ammiano (Chair), D-San Francisco
Asm. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo
Asm. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley
Abstain
Asm. Warren Furutani, D-Long Beach
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