2005 California Penal Code Sections 999i-999p CHAPTER 2.3. REPEAT SEXUAL OFFENDERS

999i.  The Legislature hereby finds that repeat sexual offenders
present a clear and present danger to the mental and physical
well-being of the citizens of the State of California, especially of
its children.  The Legislature further finds that the concept of
vertical prosecution, in which one deputy district attorney is
assigned to a case from its filing to its completion, is a proven way
of demonstrably increasing the likelihood of convicting repeat sex
offenders and ensuring appropriate sentences for such offenders.  In
enacting this chapter, the Legislature intends to support increased
efforts by district attorneys' offices to prosecute repeat sexual
offenders through organizational and operational techniques that have
already proven their effectiveness in selected counties in this and
other states, as demonstrated by the California Career Criminal
Prosecution Program and the California Gang Violence Suppression
Program, as well as sexual assault prosecution units in several
counties.
999j.  (a) There is hereby established in the agency or agencies
designated by the Director of Finance pursuant to Section 13820 a
program of financial and technical assistance for district attorneys'
offices, designated the Repeat Sexual Offender Prosecution Program.
All funds appropriated to the agency or agencies designated by the
Director of Finance pursuant to Section 3820 for the purposes of this
chapter shall be administered and disbursed by the executive
director of that agency or agencies, and shall to the greatest extent
feasible, be coordinated or consolidated with any federal or local
funds that may be made available for these purposes.
   The agency or agencies designated by the Director of Finance
pursuant to Section 13820 shall establish guidelines for the
provision of grant awards to proposed and existing programs prior to
the allocation of funds under this chapter.  These guidelines shall
contain the criteria for the selection of agencies to receive
funding, as developed in consultation with an advisory group to be
known as the Repeat Sexual Offender Prosecution Program Steering
Committee.  The membership of the Steering Committee shall be
designated by the Executive Director of the agency or agencies
designated by the Director of Finance pursuant to Section 13820.
   A draft of the guidelines shall be developed and submitted to the
Chairpersons of the Assembly Criminal Law and Public Safety Committee
and the Senate Judiciary Committee within 60 days of the effective
date of this chapter and issued within 90 days of the same effective
date.  These guidelines shall set forth the terms and conditions upon
which the agency or agencies designated by the Director of Finance
pursuant to Section 13820 is prepared to offer grants pursuant to
statutory authority.  The guidelines shall not constitute rules,
regulations, orders, or standards of general application.
   (b) The executive director is authorized to allocate and award
funds to counties in which repeat sexual offender prosecution units
are established or are proposed to be established in substantial
compliance with the policies and criteria set forth below in Sections
999k, 999l, and 999m.
   (c) The allocation and award of funds shall be made upon
application executed by the county's district attorney and approved
by its board of supervisors.  Funds disbursed under this chapter
shall not supplant local funds that would, in the absence of the
California Repeat Sexual Offender Prosecution Program, be made
available to support the prosecution of repeat sexual offender felony
cases.  Local grant awards made under this program shall not be
subject to review as specified in Section 14780 of the Government
Code.
999k.  Repeat sexual offender prosecution units receiving funds
under this chapter shall concentrate enhanced prosecution efforts and
resources upon individuals identified under selection criteria set
forth in Section 999l.  Enhanced prosecution efforts and resources
shall include, but not be limited to:
   (a) Vertical prosecutorial representation, whereby the prosecutor
who makes the initial filing or appearance in a repeat sexual
offender case will perform all subsequent court appearances on that
particular case through its conclusion, including the sentencing
phase.
   (b) The assignment of highly qualified investigators and
prosecutors to repeat sexual offender cases.  "Highly qualified" for
the purposes of this chapter shall be defined as:  (1) individuals
with one year of experience in the investigation and prosecution of
felonies or specifically the felonies listed in subdivision (a) of
Section 999l; or (2) individuals whom the district attorney has
selected to receive training as set forth in Section 13836; or (3)
individuals who have attended a program providing equivalent training
as approved by the agency or agencies designated by the Director of
Finance pursuant to Section 13820.
   (c) A significant reduction of caseloads for investigators and
prosecutors assigned to repeat sexual offender cases.
   (d) Coordination with local rape victim counseling centers, child
abuse services programs, and victim witness assistance programs.
Coordination shall include, but not be limited to:  referrals of
individuals to receive client services; participation in local
training programs; membership and participation in local task forces
established to improve communication between criminal justice system
agencies and community service agencies; and cooperating with
individuals serving as liaison representatives of local rape victim
counseling centers and victim witness assistance programs.
999l.  (a) An individual shall be the subject of a repeat sexual
offender prosecution effort who is under arrest for the commission or
attempted commission of one or more of the following offenses:
assault with intent to commit rape, sodomy, oral copulation or any
violation of Section 264.1, Section 288, or Section 289; rape, in
violation of Section 261; sexual battery, in violation of Section
243.4; sodomy, in violation of Section 286; lewd acts on a child
under 14, in violation of Section 288; oral copulation, in violation
of Section 288a; sexual penetration, in violation of Section 289; and
(1) who is being prosecuted for offenses involving two or more
separate victims, or (2) who is being prosecuted for the commission
or attempted commission of three or more separate offenses not
arising out of the same transaction involving one or more of the
above-listed offenses, or (3) who has suffered at least one
conviction during the preceding 10 years for any of the above-listed
offenses.  For purposes of this chapter, the 10-year periods
specified in this section shall be exclusive of any time which the
arrested person has served in state prison or in a state hospital
pursuant to a commitment as a mentally disordered sex offender.
   (b) In applying the repeat sexual offender selection criteria set
forth above:  (1) a district attorney may elect to limit repeat
sexual offender prosecution efforts to persons arrested for any one
or more of the offenses listed in subdivision (a) if crime statistics
demonstrate that the incidence of such one or more offenses presents
a particularly serious problem in the county; (2) a district
attorney shall not reject cases for filing exclusively on the basis
that there is a family or personal relationship between the victim
and the alleged offender.
   (c) In exercising the prosecutorial discretion granted by Section
999n, the district attorney shall consider the following:  (1) the
character, the background, and prior criminal background of the
defendant, and (2) the number and seriousness of the offenses
currently charged against the defendant.
999m.  Each district attorney's office establishing a repeat sexual
offender prosecution unit and receiving state support under this
chapter shall adopt and pursue the following policies for repeat
sexual offender cases:
   (a) All reasonable prosecutorial efforts will be made to resist
the pretrial release of a charged defendant meeting repeat sexual
offender selection criteria.
   (b) All reasonable prosecutorial efforts will be made to persuade
the court to impose the most severe authorized sentence upon a person
convicted after prosecution as a repeat sexual offender.  In the
prosecution of an intrafamily sexual abuse case, discretion may be
exercised as to the type and nature of sentence recommended to the
court.
   (c) All reasonable prosecutorial efforts will be made to reduce
the time between arrest and disposition of charge against an
individual meeting repeat sexual offender criteria.
999n.  (a) The selection criteria set forth in Section 999l shall be
adhered to for each repeat sexual offender case unless, in the
reasonable exercise of prosecutor's discretion, extraordinary
circumstances require departure from those policies in order to
promote the general purposes and intent of this chapter.
   (b) Each district attorney's office establishing a repeat sexual
offender prosecution unit and receiving state support under this
chapter shall submit the following information, on a quarterly basis,
to the agency or agencies designated by the Director of Finance
pursuant to Section 13820:
   (1) The number of sexual assault cases referred to the district
attorney's office for possible filing.
   (2) The number of sexual assault cases filed for felony
prosecution.
   (3) The number of sexual assault cases taken to trial.
   (4) The percentage of sexual assault cases tried which resulted in
conviction.
999o.  The characterization of a defendant as a "repeat sexual
offender" as defined by this chapter shall not be communicated to the
trier of fact.
999p.  The agency or agencies designated by the Director of Finance
pursuant to Section 13820 is encouraged to utilize any federal funds
which may become available in order to implement the provisions of
this chapter.