Thousands of California’s Convicted Pedophiles are Being Released From Prison in Less Than a Year

A last minute gut-and-amend bill in 2020 by Assemblyman Phil Ting, Assembly Bill 3234, lowered the age threshold for “elderly parole” from 60 to 50, creating a loophole that allows violent sex offenders to be eligible for “elderly parole” after serving only 20 years. Despite the significant societal and fiscal impacts of the bill, AB 3234 was was passed entirely on party lines without a hearing or notice to the public.

Today we find out that more than 7,000 sex offenders convicted of “lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age” were released the same year they were convicted, the DailyMail.com reports in an excellent exposé. “The most common offense in the database was ‘lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age’, committed 19,441 times. Despite its severity, the average time served for this crime was just two years and 11 months.”

But this goes back even further than just Assemblyman Ting’s wicked bill.

In 2017 California legislators passed the Elderly Parole Program for the purpose of reviewing the parole suitability of inmates who are 60 years of age or older and who have served a minimum of 25 years on their sentence. But apparently that wasn’t a good enough gimme, because by 2020, AB 3234 by Asm. Ting amended Penal Code section 3055 and allowed every person who is over 50 years old who has served more than 20 years in prison to get a parole hearing. So, serial child molesters, serial rapists, serial murders who are over 50 years old get a parole hearing after only 20 years in custody, because they are ostensibly “elderly.

Sen. Brian Jones sought to correct this egregious law with SB 445, which would have eliminated the loophole allowing violent sex offenders, who reach their 50th birthday while in prison, from automatically being eligible for early release from prison, had it been passed. But SB 445 “landed flat on its face,” according to Sen. Jones, when Democrats in the California Legislature killed it.

“Violent sex offense victims, and the families of victims, should not have to wonder if their attacker will suddenly get out of prison long before they finish their sentence,” Senator Jones said when he introduced SB 445. Right now the law is rigged and forces the Board of Parole Hearings to justify why the violent sex offender shouldn’t get out of prison early. This is backwards and wrong. Law-abiding Californians, not violent criminals, should be protected by the law.

The Globe spoke on Tuesday with Sen. Jones about what happened, first with Ting’s bill, then with SB 445. In 2020, Democrats slapped AB 3234 into the Budget Trailer Bill, without hearings. It’s a travesty of the legislative process allowing policy bills into the budget process.

AB 3234 says “When considering the release of an inmate specified by subdivision the board shall give special consideration to whether age, time served, and diminished physical condition…

“I’m 54,” Jones said. “I’m not elderly, nor do I have ‘diminished physical ability.'” He pointed out that those who are incarcerated often spend all day pumping iron in prison, and should not be considered “elderly” just because they turn 50 while incarcerated.

There are two sides to this,” Jones said. The social justice reforms largely coddle criminals.” He said Democrats on both the Assembly and Senate Public Safety Committees do not focus on the condition, health, safety, mental capacity, and security of the victims – they focus on the rights of the criminals.

And some Democrat lawmakers justify criminal justice reforms and “criminals’ rights” because they consider the criminal justice system “racist.

How did this even happen? What precipitated these evil bills?

• Proposition 47 (2014) downgraded many felonies to misdemeanors.
• Proposition 57  was passed in 2016 enabling early-release of “non-violent” crimes.
• Assembly Bill 109, Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature 2011 “prison realignment” scheme, shifted detainees from state prisons to local jails, overwhelming county jails.

Proposition 57 reduced prison sentences and reclassified violent crimes as “non-violent.” These new laws eroded the Three Strikes law, and have been a disaster for public safety, taking away the tools courts need to rehabilitate drug offenders, opening the door for rampant retail theft, and reclassifying violent crimes and sex crimes as “non-violent.”

The DailyMail.com interviewed former Los Angeles sex crimes prosecutor Samuel Dordulian, who now represents victims of sexual abuse. He said “policies backed by California Governor Gavin Newsom” are “allowing for shortening of sentences to reduce the prison population. With Newsom, they’ve passed a lot of legislation where they are allowing for resentencing, they’re allowing for people to come back and there’s a push to have less time spent in prison,” Dordulian said. That has been the push for the last at least five years: letting people out of prison much earlier than what their sentences were for. But these types of individuals, they’re not amenable to rehabilitation, and studies have shown that,” he added. ‘They’re gonna harm another child. It’s a very, very scary trend.'”

“Who does this make sense to?” Sen. Jones asked. “A polite society focuses on the safety, health and security of victims and the most vulnerable.”

Perhaps ironically, there are 201 registered sex offender pedophiles living very near the State Capitol in downtown Sacramento according to MegansLaw.ca.gov:

“The most common offense in the database was ‘lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age’, committed 19,441 times,” DailyMail.com reports. “Despite its severity, the average time served for this crime was just two years and 11 months.”

“And 7,152 pedophiles who committed this crime served less than a year.”

There are 194 registered sex offender pedophiles living in my own Sacramento neighborhood. Anyone can access MegansLaw.ca.gov to see how many sex offenders reside nearby by entering an address into the database.

Notably, current controversial George Soros-backed Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón supported Proposition 57 and was one of the leading proponents of Proposition 47, unbelievably titled by then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris, The Safe Neighborhood and Schools Act. Prop. 47 reduced a host of serious felonies to misdemeanors, including drug crimes, date rape, and all thefts under $950, even for repeat offenders who steal every day. It did not create safe neighborhoods, and led to a statewide spike in property crimes and theft from retailers.

Sen. Jones added, “Many Californians agree that California has a violent crime problem, as well as a petty crime problem.