http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/03/us/california-today-child-sex-trafficking.html 2016-10-03 14:39:02 California Today: A Shift in the Child Sex Trafficking Trade Monday: Measures shield victims of sex trafficking, residents battle a timber company over water rights, and Vin Scully says farewell. === Good morning. Welcome to California Today. Is there such a thing as a child prostitute? Campaigners have for years tried to erase the phrase from the law, arguing that if a juvenile cannot legally consent to sex with an adult, neither can she willingly sell her body. She is a victim of rape, they say, not a prostitute. Last week, the movement won perhaps its biggest victory as Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation that bans law enforcement from arresting minors involved in the sex trade, except when their safety may be at risk. Instead, they will be treated as victims, and directed toward social services. “This is a really big deal,” said Kim Biddle, the executive director of The governor also signed a law that allows adult victims to have charges against them dropped if they can show they were coerced into selling sex. Together, the measures represent a shift in prosecutions away from children and young women and toward the pimps and criminal enterprises running the industry. Fifteen other states have passed similar laws that shield sexually exploited boys and girls from being charged with prostitution, according to The police and outreach groups say sex trafficking in California has grown rapidly in recent years — concentrated mostly in San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco — as websites like Backpage and Craigslist have made transactions simpler than ever. Detective Lina Teague, a coordinator of the Los Angeles Police Department’s “But the reality of street prostitution today is that minors and young women are being sexually exploited out of some type of duress, fear or some type of coercion,” she said. Ms. Biddle, of Saving Innocence, cited a case in North Hollywood that involved a girl, 13, who was caught with a 47-year-old man. She was handcuffed and charged with prostitution; he got a citation, Ms. Biddle said. “Now, we’re able to view these children correctly under the law,” she added, “as victims.” See reporting in The New York Times on the Nov. 8 ballot initiatives: And dig into analyses of all 17 statewide measures by the • Residents of a logging town are battling a timber company for the • Even as water restrictions have eased for the rest of California, • Tensions flared in a South Los Angeles neighborhood after the police • Fox Searchlight wants its film “ • Anxious about the • California regulators have opened a pathway for the public to get • Tech conferences in San Francisco are apparently a good way for checking out what’s new in • As • • The Federal Trade Commission’s chairwoman has brought hints of her • On Tuesday in San Francisco, Google is expected to • During • Carpinteria hosts the three-day • Vin Scully, the Dodgers broadcasting great, The Giants After 67 seasons behind the microphone, Mr. Scully signed off by telling the fans, “I have said enough for a lifetime, and for the last time, I wish you all a very pleasant good afternoon.” What’s next for Mr. Scully? More time with his wife, Sandi, who has been by the broadcaster’s side for much of his career. Richard Sandomir, a sports columnist for The Times, As Scully heads into retirement, admirers in recent days and weeks have offered tributes to his legacy. Check out a short selection. Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times sportswriter George Will, Washington Post columnist Bob Costas of NBC Sports Kevin Costner, California Today goes live at 6 a.m. Pacific time weekdays. Tell us what you want to see: The California Today columnist, Mike McPhate, is a third-generation Californian — born outside Sacramento and raised in San Juan Capistrano. He lives in Davis. California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and attended U.C. Berkeley.