Statutory Rape Prosecutions Surging in O.C.

Prosecutions of statutory rape cases in Orange County have more than doubled in the past year under an aggressive new program that relies heavily on information from hospitals that treat pregnant teens.

Prosecutors attribute the surge in part to revelations by the Times Orange County Edition last year that county social workers helped 15 pregnant minors in their protection to marry or resume living with their adult sex partners rather than treating the girls as victims of statutory rape.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Charles Middleton, who heads the sexual abuse unit, said news media coverage of the cases raised awareness among hospital officials.

The district attorney’s office and several child-abuse prevention groups have also held training seminars at local hospitals, where workers are reminded of their obligation under state law to report all pregnant minors they treat to the county’s Social Services Agency.

“With the help of the hospitals, we have become aware of many more cases,” Middleton said. “With all the publicity, there was a lot more understanding about this problem. The word got out that the children who have children need to be protected.”

About 110 people were charged with statutory rape in 1996, compared with 55 in 1995. Of the 110 cases, 69 have resulted in guilty pleas or convictions, Middleton said. The rest are still pending.

The increase in prosecution comes about a year after The Times revealed that social workers were helping some teen mothers wed the adult fathers of their children.

Some critics said the county should be prosecuting the fathers for statutory rape rather than helping with the marriages. But others argued that the children benefited from the stable family life the marriages might bring.

After a lengthy investigation, the Social Services Agency imposed new rules that prohibit social workers from recommending that underage girls in the county’s protection marry their male sex partners.

California has the nation’s highest rate per capita of teen pregnancies. In response, Gov. Pete Wilson two years ago launched an aggressive program to reduce the number of teen pregnancies. The district attorney’s office last year received $325,000 in state grants to increase enforcement of statutory rape laws.

The stricter enforcement has won praise from some county officials, who said both families and society benefit.

“You cannot teach morality, but we must hold these men responsible,” Supervisor Todd Spitzer said. “These adult offenders must be prosecuted. Otherwise, society pays to support the children born of these unions when the offender walks away from his responsibility.”

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But others are not so sure.

Robin Abramo of Mission Viejo was a teen mother. Now 30, she married her husband, Chad, when she was 16 and he was 21. That year, they had their first child.

Abramo thinks prosecution of statutory rape cases needs to be handled carefully and on an individual basis.

“It seems strange to me to be prosecuting and fining, or even jailing the father and taking away any help the young mother can get from the father,” she said. “Why not make these men accountable to these young girls?

“Wilson wants to look like he is curbing teen pregnancy, but I don’t think this cures the problem of men having sex with young girls,” she said, scoffing at the idea that a fine or jail would act as a deterrent. “This is not going to stop them having sex. It is not the way the thought process works.”

Middleton said many of the cases are fairly easy to prove because the fathers admit to their actions or are living with the mothers. In some cases, prosecutors have used DNA testing to identify fathers. The 110 prosecutions in 1996 came from a pool of 170 cases that police departments referred to the district attorney’s office.

Most cases end in plea agreements from the defendants. State law classifies some types of statutory rape as felonies punishable by more than a year in state prison. Other types involving defendants who are only slightly older than the victims are classified as misdemeanors.

But judges have wide discretion in sentencing and often render relatively light sentences to fathers who are planning to marry or care for the mothers and children.

“If it looks like he is accepting responsibility, he could get a light sentence,” Middleton said. “We don’t want to penalize the family.”

Middleton said the public benefits from the prosecutions even though the punishments vary. “It’s protecting the children,” he said. “If two people are not married, it really isn’t a family unit. The child is left out in the cold.”

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Fathers who marry underage mothers are protected against prosecution for statutory rape. An adult who has sex with a minor younger than 14 is guilty of child abuse under state law.

Hospital officials who serve pregnant teens do not work directly with police or prosecutors. Rather, they inform the county’s child abuse registry of any teens they see.

“With all underage girls, an assessment is performed and the appropriate referrals are made, most commonly to child protective services,” said Valerie Orleans, director of corporate communication for St. Joseph Hospital in Orange. Such reporting is required under state law, she said.

* ADOLESCENT MOTHERS

Latino births in O.C. began outpacing whites in 1992, particularly among girls 10-14. B1