Bill on commercial sex abuse of a child on way to governor

OLYMPIA – It was such a good idea that it passed both houses of the Legislature without a single dissenting vote.

And according to sponsor Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, it was a no-brainer.

Currently children younger than 18 are guilty of solicitation if successfully prosecuted for engaging in prostitution. The customers who pay them are charged with patronizing a prostitute. But Kohl-Welles and Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata agreed the onus should be placed on the perpetrator instead of the victim and worked together to pass the legislation following Licata’s suggestion for the bill last summer.

Senate Bill 5718 would create the crime of commercial sex abuse of a minor and add a one-year “kicker”: an additional one-year penalty to be tacked on to the sentence of someone convicted of the most serious crimes of sexual abuse against children, such as rape of a child, if the offender paid to engage in the abuse.

“Refocusing the law on the adult who commits the crime sends the message that these youths’ lives have value and meaning,” Kohl-Welles said. “If we are serious about reducing commercial sexual abuse of minors, we must make it less attractive to johns and pimps.”

Seattle has sadly been a hub city for trafficking in teenage prostitution,” Licata said. “We must find an effective way to address the problem of the sexual exploitation of our youth. We must offer viable options to prostitution. Those who exploit our children, grandchildren, siblings, nieces, and nephews in this way must be held accountable to the same standards applied to anyone harming a minor.”

If signed by the governor, the bill takes effect 90 days later.

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