Governor Signs Pavley’s Bill to Protect Public from Sex Offenders

From the office of Senator Fran Pavley:

Governor Jerry Brown today signed a bill by Senator Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) that will better protect the public from sexually violent predators. SB 179 will strengthen parole requirements by closing a dangerous loophole that allows sexually violent predators to avoid court-ordered parole.

“It is simply outrageous that currently some of the most violent sexual predators in the state- the worst of the worst - are released onto our streets with no supervision,” said Senator Pavley. “We know many of these convicted sex offenders will strike again if not properly monitored.”

Under current law, most high risk sex offenders who have completed their prison sentence must be confined to a state mental hospital and evaluated by California’s Sexually Violent Predator Program. Due to an inconsistency in the law, the parole time for these offenders begins as soon as they are released from prison and continues while the offender is being assessed in the state hospital - under full security. The result is that these sexually violent predators receive overlapping supervision services. As a consequence, some offenders run out the clock on their three to five year court-ordered parole time and are released into the community with no supervision – contrary to the intent of the law. 

“SB 179 would ensure that those determined to be sexually violent predators serve their parole time after they are released from hospital custody and into the community,” said Senator Pavley. “This is not only a better use of scarce parole resources, but it will make our communities safer.” 

Under California law, a sexually violent predator (SVP) is a person convicted of a sexually violent offense, such as forcible rape, forcible sodomy, or child molestation, and who is found by a judge or jury to be likely to commit a similar offense in the future due to a diagnosed mental disorder.

“This is a public safety no-brainer,” said Senator Pavley. “It is unacceptable to release these sexually violent predators into the community without any parole. We must protect our communities, particularly our most vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly, by adequately supervising these dangerous sexual predators.” 

SB 179 is sponsored by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office. “By assuring that these offenders will be subject to close supervision upon release from the state mental hospital, SB 179 will enable us to quickly return these violent offenders to custody if they attempt to engage in criminal conduct in the future,” said L.A. District Attorney Steve Cooley.     

SB 179 was part of a package of bills signed today by Governor Brown to protect public safety. For a list of other bills signed, click here.