Today's Law As Amended


Bill PDF |Add To My Favorites | print page

SB-894 Sexual exploitation by a member of the clergy.(2023-2024)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.

 Section 1708.5.4 is added to the Civil Code, to read:

1708.5.4.
 (a) Consent is not a defense in a civil action under Section 1708.5 if the person who commits the sexual battery is a member of the clergy who, in such capacity, is in a position of trust or authority over the victim and uses their position of trust or authority to exploit the victim’s emotional dependency on the member of the clergy.
(b) For purposes of this section, “member of the clergy” means a priest, minister, rabbi, or similar functionary of a church, temple, or recognized denomination or organization.

SEC. 2.

 Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 275) is added to Title 9 of Part 1 of the Penal Code, to read:

CHAPTER  3. Sexual Exploitation by a Member of the Clergy
275.
 (a) A member of the clergy who is in a position of trust or authority over an adult congregant and who engages in an act of sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, or sexual contact with that adult congregant is guilty of sexual exploitation by a member of the clergy.
(b) Consent is not a defense in a criminal action under this section.
(c) Sexual exploitation by a member of the clergy is a public offense:
(1) An act in violation of subdivision (a) shall be punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of not more than six months, a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.
(2) Multiple acts in violation of subdivision (a) with a single victim, when the offender has no prior conviction for sexual exploitation, shall be punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of not more than six months, a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.
(3) An act or acts in violation of subdivision (a) with two or more victims shall be punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for a period of 16 months, two years, or three years and a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or the act or acts shall be punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of not more than one year, a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.
(4) Two or more acts in violation of subdivision (a) with a single victim, when the offender has at least one prior conviction for sexual exploitation, shall be punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for a period of 16 months, two years, or three years and a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or the act or acts shall be punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of not more than one year, a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.
(5) An act or acts in violation of subdivision (a) with two or more victims, when the offender has at least one prior conviction for sexual exploitation, shall be punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for a period of 16 months, two years, or three years and a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(d) This section does not apply to sexual contact between a member of the clergy and their spouse or person in an equivalent domestic relationship.
(e) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) “Intimate part” and “touching” have the same meanings as defined in Section 243.4.
(2) “Member of the clergy” means a priest, minister, rabbi, or similar functionary of a church, temple, or recognized denomination or organization.
(3) “Sexual contact” means sexual intercourse or the touching of an intimate part of an adult congregant for the purpose of sexual arousal, gratification, or abuse.
(f) This section does not limit or prevent prosecution under any other law that proscribes a course of conduct that is proscribed by this section.
(g) In the case of a felony conviction for a violation of this section, the fact that the victim was an employee of the defendant’s religious organization shall be a factor in aggravation in sentencing.
SEC. 3.
 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.