SECTIONS 999i-999p - California Statutes

PENAL CODE

SECTION 999i-999p

999i. The Legislature hereby finds that repeat sexual offenders
present a clear and present danger to the mental and physical
well-being of the citizens of the State of California, especially of
its children. The Legislature further finds that the concept of
vertical prosecution, in which one deputy district attorney is
assigned to a case from its filing to its completion, is a proven way
of demonstrably increasing the likelihood of convicting repeat sex
offenders and ensuring appropriate sentences for such offenders. In
enacting this chapter, the Legislature intends to support increased
efforts by district attorneys' offices to prosecute repeat sexual
offenders through organizational and operational techniques that have
already proven their effectiveness in selected counties in this and
other states, as demonstrated by the California Career Criminal
Prosecution Program and the California Gang Violence Suppression
Program, as well as sexual assault prosecution units in several
counties.

999j. (a) There is hereby established in the California Emergency
Management Agency a program of financial and technical assistance for
district attorneys' offices, designated the Repeat Sexual Offender
Prosecution Program. All funds appropriated to the agency for the
purposes of this chapter shall be administered and disbursed by the
secretary of the agency, and shall to the greatest extent feasible,
be coordinated or consolidated with any federal or local funds that
may be made available for these purposes.
The California Emergency Management Agency shall establish
guidelines for the provision of grant awards to proposed and existing
programs prior to the allocation of funds under this chapter. These
guidelines shall contain the criteria for the selection of agencies
to receive funding, as developed in consultation with an advisory
group to be known as the Repeat Sexual Offender Prosecution Program
Steering Committee. The membership of the steering committee shall be
designated by the secretary of the agency.
A draft of the guidelines shall be developed and submitted to the
Chairpersons of the Assembly Criminal Law and Public Safety Committee
and the Senate Judiciary Committee within 60 days of the effective
date of this chapter and issued within 90 days of the same effective
date. These guidelines shall set forth the terms and conditions upon
which the California Emergency Management Agency is prepared to offer
grants pursuant to statutory authority. The guidelines shall not
constitute rules, regulations, orders, or standards of general
application.
(b) The Secretary of Emergency Management is authorized to
allocate and award funds to counties in which repeat sexual offender
prosecution units are established or are proposed to be established
in substantial compliance with the policies and criteria set forth
below in Sections 999k, 999l, and 999m.
(c) The allocation and award of funds shall be made upon
application executed by the county's district attorney and approved
by its board of supervisors. Funds disbursed under this chapter shall
not supplant local funds that would, in the absence of the
California Repeat Sexual Offender Prosecution Program, be made
available to support the prosecution of repeat sexual offender felony
cases. Local grant awards made under this program shall not be
subject to review as specified in Section 14780 of the Government
Code.

999k. Repeat sexual offender prosecution units receiving funds
under this chapter shall concentrate enhanced prosecution efforts and
resources upon individuals identified under selection criteria set
forth in Section 999l. Enhanced prosecution efforts and resources
shall include, but not be limited to:
(a) Vertical prosecutorial representation, whereby the prosecutor
who makes the initial filing or appearance in a repeat sexual
offender case will perform all subsequent court appearances on that
particular case through its conclusion, including the sentencing
phase.
(b) The assignment of highly qualified investigators and
prosecutors to repeat sexual offender cases. "Highly qualified" for
the purposes of this chapter shall be defined as: (1) individuals
with one year of experience in the investigation and prosecution of
felonies or specifically the felonies listed in subdivision (a) of
Section 999l; or (2) individuals whom the district attorney has
selected to receive training as set forth in Section 13836; or (3)
individuals who have attended a program providing equivalent training
as approved by the California Emergency Management Agency.
(c) A significant reduction of caseloads for investigators and
prosecutors assigned to repeat sexual offender cases.
(d) Coordination with local rape victim counseling centers, child
abuse services programs, and victim witness assistance programs.
Coordination shall include, but not be limited to: referrals of
individuals to receive client services; participation in local
training programs; membership and participation in local task forces
established to improve communication between criminal justice system
agencies and community service agencies; and cooperating with
individuals serving as liaison representatives of local rape victim
counseling centers and victim witness assistance programs.

999l. (a) An individual shall be the subject of a repeat sexual
offender prosecution effort who is under arrest for the commission or
attempted commission of one or more of the following offenses:
assault with intent to commit rape, sodomy, oral copulation or any
violation of Section 264.1, Section 288, or Section 289; rape, in
violation of Section 261; sexual battery, in violation of Section
243.4; sodomy, in violation of Section 286; lewd acts on a child
under 14, in violation of Section 288; oral copulation, in violation
of Section 288a; sexual penetration, in violation of Section 289; and
(1) who is being prosecuted for offenses involving two or more
separate victims, or (2) who is being prosecuted for the commission
or attempted commission of three or more separate offenses not
arising out of the same transaction involving one or more of the
above-listed offenses, or (3) who has suffered at least one
conviction during the preceding 10 years for any of the above-listed
offenses. For purposes of this chapter, the 10-year periods specified
in this section shall be exclusive of any time which the arrested
person has served in state prison or in a state hospital pursuant to
a commitment as a mentally disordered sex offender.
(b) In applying the repeat sexual offender selection criteria set
forth above: (1) a district attorney may elect to limit repeat sexual
offender prosecution efforts to persons arrested for any one or more
of the offenses listed in subdivision (a) if crime statistics
demonstrate that the incidence of such one or more offenses presents
a particularly serious problem in the county; (2) a district attorney
shall not reject cases for filing exclusively on the basis that
there is a family or personal relationship between the victim and the
alleged offender.
(c) In exercising the prosecutorial discretion granted by Section
999n, the district attorney shall consider the following: (1) the
character, the background, and prior criminal background of the
defendant, and (2) the number and seriousness of the offenses
currently charged against the defendant.

999m. Each district attorney's office establishing a repeat sexual
offender prosecution unit and receiving state support under this
chapter shall adopt and pursue the following policies for repeat
sexual offender cases:
(a) All reasonable prosecutorial efforts will be made to resist
the pretrial release of a charged defendant meeting repeat sexual
offender selection criteria.
(b) All reasonable prosecutorial efforts will be made to persuade
the court to impose the most severe authorized sentence upon a person
convicted after prosecution as a repeat sexual offender. In the
prosecution of an intrafamily sexual abuse case, discretion may be
exercised as to the type and nature of sentence recommended to the
court.
(c) All reasonable prosecutorial efforts will be made to reduce
the time between arrest and disposition of charge against an
individual meeting repeat sexual offender criteria.

999n. (a) The selection criteria set forth in Section 999l shall be
adhered to for each repeat sexual offender case unless, in the
reasonable exercise of prosecutor's discretion, extraordinary
circumstances require departure from those policies in order to
promote the general purposes and intent of this chapter.
(b) Each district attorney's office establishing a repeat sexual
offender prosecution unit and receiving state support under this
chapter shall submit the following information, on a quarterly basis,
to the California Emergency Management Agency:
(1) The number of sexual assault cases referred to the district
attorney's office for possible filing.
(2) The number of sexual assault cases filed for felony
prosecution.
(3) The number of sexual assault cases taken to trial.
(4) The percentage of sexual assault cases tried which resulted in
conviction.

999o. The characterization of a defendant as a "repeat sexual
offender" as defined by this chapter shall not be communicated to the
trier of fact.

999p. The California Emergency Management Agency is encouraged to
utilize any federal funds which may become available in order to
implement the provisions of this chapter.