FINES FOR BUYING SEX MAY INCREASE

Fees could triple for diversion program for first-time offenders

People arrested for buying sex in San Diego may soon be required to pay higher fines and spend more time listening to counselors if they want the arrest removed from their record.

The City Attorney’s Office is proposing to triple the fees for a diversion program for sex buyers,

Gov. Newsom urged to reinstate part of anti-loitering law.

often called “johns,” and expanding the program from three hours to eight hours so more topics can be covered.

The diversion program, which was created in 2002 and is open only to first-time offenders, will be expanded to cover sex addiction, human trafficking, couples counseling and other topics.

The goals of the changes are to reduce the number of repeat offenders through education and raise money to help people who are victims of human trafficking, city officials said.

San Diego is an attractive location to traffickers because of its many long-term and short-term visitors, including tourists and the military, who provide a constant market for illegal commercial sex, city officials said.

The underground sex trade in San Diego generates more than $800 million a year and is the second-largest illegal industry in the city behind narcotics, according to the City Attorney’s Office.

On Tuesday, officials announced that a lengthy investigation into human trafficking and sexual exploitation in San Diego and National City had resulted in 48 arrests and the discovery of 16 people they said were trafficked. On Thursday, civil rights groups and county leaders urged the repeal of state legislation that voided a prohibition on loitering with the intent to engage in prostitution.

Under the proposal from the City Attorney’s Office, the fee for the diversion program would rise from $200 to $600, which would make it similar to other California cities offering such diversion programs.

Los Angeles charges $600, Fresno $500 and San Francisco

$1,000, but San Francisco lowers its fee for defendants with low incomes.

San Diego hasn’t raised the fee for the program since it was established two decades ago.

The name of the program would also be changed to reflect a shift in its focus toward human trafficking. Now called the Prostitution Impact Panel, it would become the Sex Trafficking Education and Prevention Program.

An analysis in 2017 found that the repeat-offender rate for people who have completed the diversion program was 4 percent. No studies have been done since then, city officials said.

The program is handled by the City Attorney’s Office because prostitution cases are misdemeanors. In San Diego, the district attorney handles felony crimes, and the city attorney misdemeanors.

The diversion sessions

would continue to be held quarterly, but they would shift from Tuesday evenings to daytime on Saturdays.

City officials said sessions have averaged 18 participants in recent years. The higher fine and need to spend eight hours in counseling instead of three could reduce interest in the program.

After a john is arrested, a prosecutor in the City Attorney’s Office has the discretion to offer the diversion program as an option.

In order to have their record cleared, a john must pay the fee, attend the program, submit to an HIV test and then spend one year on probation that requires them not to visit areas known for prostitution.

If they reject the diversion program and get convicted, they typically pay $1,215 in fines.

The proposed changes, which the City Council is expected to debate this spring, would not affect the consequences that people charged with prostitution face.

They would continue to be offered a separate diversion program that includes 10 hours of counseling. The City Attorney’s Office said this week that they do not prosecute people selling sex if they are the victims of human trafficking.

The revenue generated by the higher fee for the johns’ diversion program would cover hotel vouchers, rental assistance, relocation expenses and other aid to such victims, city officials said.

City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert praised the proposed changes last week when they were presented to the council’s public safety committee. She said it makes sense to focus simultaneously on reducing demand for prostitution and the amount of human trafficking in San Diego.

Councilmember Jen Campbell praised the plan to increase counseling for johns.

“That’s where we really need to educate that this is not proper behavior,” she said.