Bill > AB1739

This bill expands existing laws against sexual exploitation to include members of the clergy who provide therapeutic services, meaning counseling or spiritual guidance for emotional or psychological issues, even if they are not licensed professionals. It makes it a crime for a member of the clergy, or someone holding themselves out as one, to engage in sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, or sexual contact with a current or former patient, client, or member of their congregation within two years of ending services, unless they have properly referred the individual to another professional. Consent is not a defense to this crime, which can be punished as a misdemeanor or a felony, with penalties varying based on the number of victims and prior offenses. The bill clarifies that this inclusion does not subject clergy to the entire Psychology Licensing Law but aims to ensure they adhere to a code of conduct prohibiting sexual contact with congregants and imposes similar penalties for violations.

Budget and Finance, Business and Industry, Justice

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1739