San Diego leaders hail new law targeting buyers soliciting sex from minors

People who solicit sex from minors are looking at felony charges with a new law going into effect Jan. 1.

San Diego leaders on Wednesday hailed the new law under Assembly Bill 379. Co-sponsors of the bill include Mayor Todd Gloria and District Attorney Summer Stephan.

“This law will be a game changer and will allow police and prosecutors to do our jobs of protecting the most vulnerable,” Stephan told reporters at a news conference at San Diego police headquarters in downtown San Diego.

She was joined by Gloria and Police Chief Scott Wahl, who said his department will be implementing the law “effective immediately” Thursday. “We are allocating more officers and detectives toward addressing this issue specifically,” Wahl said, noting that the response will include undercover operations.

“Bottom line is this: San Diego is not a place to traffic in children,” Gloria said. “And if you do it, you’re going to have a police department that’s going to arrest you. You’re going to have a DA that’s going to prosecute you.”

The new law includes a handful of facets addressing trafficking, but among the more notable changes is the increased penalty from a misdemeanor to a felony charge for people caught soliciting commercial sex from anyone under 18 years old.

“So anyone out there who thinks that they’re going to get a citation or misdemeanor for buying a 17-year-old, a 16-year-old, a 15-year-old, think again,” Stephan said. “Get it through your ...