Existing law prohibits the granting of probation to any person who has been convicted of a violation of specified provisions relating to, among other things, rape, sodomy, oral copulation, and penetration of the genital or anal openings by a foreign object.
This bill would provide that before probation may be granted to any person convicted of a violation of specified provisions relating to rape, sodomy, lewd and lascivious conduct with a child under the age of 14 years, oral copulation, or penetration of the genital or anal openings by a foreign object, the court shall order the defendant evaluated for the purposes of diagnosis and treatment, conduct a hearing to determine if probation would pose a threat to the victim, and order any appointed psychiatrist or psychologist to consider specified factors in making his or her report to the court.
The bill would further require the court to order any defendant granted probation pursuant to the above provision to be placed in an appropriate treatment program designed to deal with child molestation or sexual offenders, if an appropriate program is available in the county. The bill provides that the defendant shall be responsible for paying the expense of the treatment program.
By increasing the duties of local agencies, including the evaluation of the defendant, the holding of a hearing, and placement of the defendant in a treatment program when the defendant is unable to pay, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund to pay the costs of mandates which do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed $1,000,000.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to those statutory procedures and, if the statewide cost does not exceed $1,000,000, shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.