Prosecutors Want Grant to Fight Statutory Rapes

The Orange County district attorney’s office is seeking approval from the Board of Supervisors to apply for a $325,000 state grant earmarked specifically for the prosecution of statutory rape cases, officials said Wednesday.

The grants are being offered as part of a $52-million statewide program launched by Gov. Pete Wilson to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies in California, which has the highest per-capita teenage pregnancy rate in the nation.

Because adult males are responsible for two-thirds of all teenage pregnancies in the state, the governor hopes vigorous prosecution of statutory rape offenders will reduce the number of underage pregnancies.

The issue of teenage pregnancies has become a hotly debated topic recently because of revelations that Orange County social workers helped 15 pregnant minors under their protection marry or resume living with their adult sex partners, instead of treating the girls as victims of statutory rape or child abuse.

In one case, a pregnant 13-year girl was given court approval to marry her 20-year-old boyfriend.

Prosecutors have said such arrangements effectively thwart their ability to pursue the men on charges of child abuse or statutory rape.

Under state law, an adult who has sex with a minor younger than 14 is guilty of child abuse, while an adult who has sex with a minor 14 or older is guilty of unlawful sex with a minor--commonly known as statutory rape. In both crimes, it does not matter if the sex is consensual.

Officials with the district attorney’s office said the new grant money will help pay for a prosecution team that will handle all of the county’s statutory rape cases from the time they are filed in court to their dispositions.

The goal would be to prosecute at least 50 felony statutory rape cases in Orange County over the next 10 months, officials said.

The team would be composed of a deputy district attorney, an investigator, an investigator’s assistant and clerical support, officials said.

The grant would provide for a continuation of a local program started with $150,000 in “seed money” that the county received last December.

In the first six months of the program, 40 felony cases and 11 misdemeanor cases were filed.

Karen Davis, director of administration for the district attorney, said the grant money allows prosecutors to handle statutory rape cases more efficiently and cost effectively.

The Board of Supervisors is expected to approve the grant application on Tuesday.