Sen. Lockyer Tells of Being Molested as Youngster

Legislation aimed at making it easier to prosecute stepfathers and others who molest children received an unexpected boost in the Senate on Friday when a lawmaker disclosed that as a youngster he was sexually abused.

Sen. Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward), Senate floor manager of the bill, dispassionately made the disclosure as the bill appeared to have run into trouble under a peppering of questions by colleagues.

The bill, by Assemblywoman Jackie Speier (D-South San Francisco), then won quick passage on a 33-1 vote and was returned to the Assembly for approval of Senate amendments.

Basically, the bill would enable prosecutors to try accused child molesters who lived with the victim or had recurring access to the youngster, even if the child could not cite specific dates or times of the molestation.

Lockyer said prosecutors of child molesters often “can’t make the case” because repeatedly abused children do not remember specific dates, places, times and locations of molestations.

“As one who was sexually molested by a baby-sitter when I was young, I can’t recall the dates,” he told the Senate matter of factly.

He added that “the way our minds work is to try to blur and forget those events.”

Lockyer admonished his colleagues: “You cannot let people who molest and twist young people . . . go unprosecuted because a 5-, or 10-, or 14-year-old child can’t remember the date or place it occurred.”

Asked after the debate to elaborate on his own experience, Lockyer snapped: “I’m not going to talk about it.”

The bill would create a new felony crime of “continuous sexual abuse” of a child under 14 and would be aimed primarily, Lockyer said, at stepfathers or others who lived in the same home with the victim for at least three months or had recurring access to the youngster for the same period.

During the three months, at least three sexual or lewd acts must be alleged to have occurred. If convicted, the molester could be sent to prison for six to 16 years.

But some senators voiced concern that schoolteachers or camp counselors could fall into the category of someone who had recurring access to a child and might be unfairly accused of molesting the boy or girl.

“This bill goes too far,” said Sen. Herschel Rosenthal (D-Los Angeles), who abstained from voting.

He warned that “all sorts of problems” could be created because “children can allege certain things because they are unhappy with the teacher.”

Sen. Alfred E. Alquist (D-San Jose) cast the single “no” vote against the bill.

The bill was sponsored by Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp and was supported by law enforcement and women’s organizations and the California PTA. It was opposed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the California Teachers Assn.

The Senate also passed, on a 28-0 vote, and returned to the Assembly a bill by Assemblyman Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles) making it a crime to possess pornography depicting children under 14 in sexual acts. Punishment would range from up to a year in jail to three years in prison, plus fines up to $5,000.

Currently, it is against the law to sell or distribute smut involving minors. However, actual possession of such material is not prohibited.