Panel OKs Castration for Two-Time Molesters

A bill that would require twice-convicted child molesters to be castrated before being released from prison was unanimously approved this week by the Assembly’s crime committee.

The bill by Assemblyman Bill Hoge (R-Pasadena) got an 8-0 vote of the Public Safety Committee on Tuesday. It now moves to the Appropriations Committee.

The bill would require a person convicted twice of child-related sex offenses to begin chemical castration one week before being released from prison and keep up the treatments. The person could opt for surgical castration instead.

Hoge’s bill originally called for castration after three convictions, but it was amended in committee to two convictions.

Chemical castration uses an Upjohn drug called Depo-Provera, which is similar to the natural progesterone hormone. When administered to men, it lowers the level of testosterone, reduces the sex drive and usually causes temporary impotence, according to the committee analysis.

“For too long, these sick individuals have been allowed back on the streets after serving time, only to repeat their crimes,” Hoge said.

He added that repeat offenses have dropped from 50% to 2% in European countries that have used chemical castration.

The issue gained attention this month when convicted molester Larry Don McQuay was paroled in Texas and said he would probably molest again if he weren’t castrated.

Medical and legal experts have questioned whether castration would prevent such sex crimes, because they tend to involve mental rather than hormonal problems.

The Assembly panel’s analysis said courts would have to judge whether castration would be “cruel and unusual punishment” under the U.S. and state constitutions.

A 1972 state appeals court ruling said a punishment would be so judged if “it is so disproportionate to the crime for which it is inflicted that it shocks the conscience and offends fundamental notions of human dignity.”