California legislators are moving to make it harder for people accused of sexual assault to win custody of children conceived during an alleged rape, even if there is no criminal conviction on the books.
The proposal, Senate Bill 1364, would let family court judges deny custody or unsupervised visitation when they find clear and convincing evidence that a child was conceived in a sexual assault. Supporters say the goal is to keep survivors and their children from being forced into long-term contact with alleged perpetrators through co-parenting arrangements.
SB 1364, authored by Sen. Caroline Menjivar (D‑Panorama City), cleared the state Senate on May 18 and was sent to the Assembly, where it has been referred to the Assembly Judiciary Committee. According to LegiScan, the bill passed the Senate on a 38‑0 vote and was engrossed for transmission to the Assembly.
What SB 1364 Would Change
Current California law already bars a parent convicted of rape from getting custody of a child conceived in that assault. SB 1364 would expand that framework by allowing a judge to presume a parent is unfit if there is clear and convincing evidence the child was conceived through sexual assault, even when prosecutors never secure a guilty verdict.
The bill would also apply when an assault led to conception or took place within 300 days before the child's birth. Judges could weigh corroborating reports from law enforcement, child‑welfare agencies, or victim‑service providers when they evaluate the allegations. Those details are laid out in an analysis from the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“No survivor should be forced to co‑parent with the person who raped them,” Menjivar told colleagues during an April hearing, arguing that tying survivors to alleged attackers through joint parenting can prolong abuse.
The bill is backed by the national survivor‑advocacy group RAINN, which supporters say has promoted similar laws in other states. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, advocates frame SB 1364 as a civil tool that can be used when the criminal justice system is unlikely to deliver a conviction.
Why Supporters Say The Change Matters
Backers of the bill point to the gap between reported sexual assaults and actual sex‑crime convictions, and to how often rape results in pregnancy.
An investigation by NBC News found that in several large U.S. jurisdictions only a tiny share of reported violent sex crimes resulted in sex‑crime convictions. Separately, national research published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine estimates that roughly 2.9 million women in the United States have experienced a rape‑related pregnancy.
Advocates argue that a higher civil standard like “clear and convincing evidence” can give survivors a measure of protection in family court when a criminal case does not end in a conviction, according to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Opposition, Legal Stakes And Next Steps
Critics warn the proposal risks eroding due‑process protections for accused parents and could limit a child's ability to know both biological parents. One opponent told lawmakers that “it is every child's right to know who their natural mother and father is,” arguing that custody decisions should not hinge on allegations that never resulted in a criminal conviction. Those comments were reported by TribLive.
SB 1364 is now parked in the Assembly Judiciary Committee, where supporters and opponents will get another round to push for amendments before the full Assembly takes a vote. The bill's progress is being tracked by LegiScan.
If it becomes law, SB 1364 would sit alongside similar statutes in other states, giving California family courts a clearer civil path to bar alleged perpetrators from custody or unsupervised visitation when a judge finds the statutory standard has been met.
Survivors seeking support can contact RAINN's national hotline at 800‑656‑HOPE.
