California Penal Code 236.7 – (a) Any interest in a vehicle, boat, airplane, money, negotiable …
(a) Any interest in a vehicle, boat, airplane, money, negotiable instruments, securities, real property, or other thing of value that was put to substantial use for the purpose of facilitating the crime of human trafficking that involves a commercial sex act, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (g) of Section 236.1, where the victim was less than 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the crime, may be seized and ordered forfeited by the court upon the conviction of a person guilty of human trafficking that involves a commercial sex act where the victim is an individual under 18 years of age, pursuant to Section 236.1.
(b) In any case in which a defendant is convicted of human trafficking pursuant to Section 236.1 and an allegation is found to be true that the victim was a person under 18 years of age and the crime involved a commercial sex act, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (g) of Section 236.1, the following assets shall be subject to forfeiture upon proof of the provisions of subdivision (d) of Section 236.9:
Terms Used In California Penal Code 236.7
- Allegation: something that someone says happened.
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- license: shall include a permit or a certificate issued by a state agency. See California Penal Code 23
- person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See California Penal Code 7
- Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
- property: includes both real and personal property. See California Penal Code 7
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the district and territories. See California Penal Code 7
(1) Any property interest, whether tangible or intangible, acquired through human trafficking that involves a commercial sex act where the victim was less than 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the crime.
(2) All proceeds from human trafficking that involves a commercial sex act where the victim was less than 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the crime, which property shall include all things of value that may have been received in exchange for the proceeds immediately derived from the act.
(c) If a prosecuting agency petitions for forfeiture of an interest under subdivision (a) or (b), the process prescribed in Sections 236.8 to 236.12, inclusive, shall apply, but no local or state prosecuting agency shall be required to petition for forfeiture in any case.
(d) Real property that is used as a family residence or for other lawful purposes, or that is owned by two or more persons, one of whom had no knowledge of its unlawful use, shall not be subject to forfeiture.
(e) An interest in a vehicle that may be lawfully driven with a class C, class M1, or class M2 license, as prescribed in § 12804.9 of the Vehicle Code, may not be forfeited under this section if there is a community property interest in the vehicle by a person other than the defendant and the vehicle is the sole vehicle of this type available to the defendant’s immediate family.
(f) Real property subject to forfeiture may not be seized, absent exigent circumstances, without notice to the interested parties and a hearing to determine that seizure is necessary to preserve the property pending the outcome of the proceedings. At the hearing, the prosecution shall bear the burden of establishing that probable cause exists for the forfeiture of the property and that seizure is necessary to preserve the property pending the outcome of the forfeiture proceedings. The court may issue a seizure order pursuant to this section if it finds that seizure is warranted or a pendente lite order pursuant to Section 236.10 if it finds that the status quo or value of the property can be preserved without seizure.
(g) For purposes of this section, no allegation or proof of a pattern of criminal profiteering activity is required.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 514, Sec. 2. (SB 1133) Effective January 1, 2013.)