While supporters say mental health diversions help certain defendants get needed mental health treatment, lawmakers in both parties have blasted the Scrivner decision and the legislative changes that led to it. Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains (D-Delano) issued a scathing statement, describing the ruling as an \u201cEpstein loophole,\u201d a reference to convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cI specialize in family and addiction medicine, so I know the value of mental health diversion \u2026 It was designed to help people get treatment and rehabilitation in appropriate cases, not to provide an escape hatch to sexually assault children,\u201d she said. \u201cThis Epstein loophole needs to be closed.\u201d<\/p>\n At the end of their 2018 legislative session, California lawmakers approved a number of legal reforms, many aimed at keeping homeless people out of jail. One of these altered what defendants could qualify for mental health diversions. The change specifically excluded people accused of crimes such as murder, rape and child sex crime but did not exclude those accused of child abuse. Then, in 2022, another amendment<\/a> to the law directed courts to allow a diversion if a diagnosed mental health disorder played a significant role in the alleged crime unless there is \u201cclear and convincing\u201d evidence it wasn\u2019t a motivating factor.<\/p>\n Since then, controversies have arisen over several judicial decisions. In 2024, a judge granted a mental health diversion<\/a> to a Pasadena doctor<\/a> accused of trying to kill his family by driving the family Tesla off a cliff with his wife and two children inside. In Sacramento County, Sheriff Jim Cooper and other officials have criticized a mental health diversion granted to a father<\/a> arrested in connection with the death of 1-year-old \u201cBaby A,\u201d who had suffered from severe injuries while in her father\u2019s custody.<\/p>\n Emergency personnel respond to a vehicle over the side of Highway 1 on Jan. 1, 2023, in San Mateo County. A Pasadena doctor, Dharmesh Patel, was charged that year with three counts of attempted murder in crashing the car over a cliff, injuring his two young children and his wife. A judge granted him a mental health diversion in 2024, allowing him to live with his parents while receiving treatment. <\/p>\n (Sgt. Brian Moore \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are becoming very skeptical of mental health treatment because it\u2019s being used in ways nobody ever intended,\u201d said Matthew Greco, deputy district attorney of San Diego County and author of the California Criminal Mental Health Handbook. The 2022 law change limited the discretion of judges \u2014 one reason the California District Attorneys Assn. opposed it, he said. Greco has since heard from judges across the state that they feel their hands are tied. In San Diego County, the number of mental health diversions granted has steadily risen since 2019.<\/p>\n The 2018 law establishing the program had good intentions, he said, but lacked proper legislative vetting. <\/p>\n \u201cWe know the central premise behind mental health diversion is that if we obtain mental health treatment for those that are mentally ill that are committing crimes, the public will be safer,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we need to have both public safety and treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n In Kern County, Scrivner has numerous political connections in the Republican Party and beyond. He served for 13 years as a county supervisor before resigning in August 2024. He also served on the Bakersfield City Council and had spent four years working for former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. <\/p>\n Kern County Dist. Atty. Cynthia Zimmer is also the aunt of Scrivner, and before recusing herself from the case, she played a key role in alerting law enforcement to his actions.<\/p>\n At a news conference<\/a> in April 2024, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said he received a call from Zimmer that Scrivner was armed and experiencing \u201csome type of psychotic episode\u201d at his Tehachapi home. Deputies responded and found that Scrivner had fought with his children, with one of them stabbing him in his torso amid allegations that he had sexually assaulted another of his children, Youngblood said. While Scrivner\u2019s four minor children were at the house at the time, his wife, who had previously filed for divorce, was not.<\/p>\n According to Youngblood, detectives obtained a search warrant and ended up seizing 30 firearms, psychedelic mushrooms, electronic devices and possible evidence of sexual assault in the house.<\/p>\n Things got complicated at that point, given that Kern County\u2019s district attorney was obligated to recuse herself and Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta\u2019s office took over the case. <\/p>\n In February 2025, Bonta\u2019s office charged Scrivner with two felony counts of possessing assault weapons and three felony counts of child abuse.<\/a> The charges, however, did not include sexual assault, even though the state\u2019s complaint said Scrivner had \u201cconsumed mind and\/or mood altering drugs and substances, got into bed\u201d with a child and inappropriately touched the child. <\/p>\n On Dec. 19, a Kern County Superior Court judge approved a motion filed by Scrivner\u2019s attorney, H.A. Sala, to allow the former county supervisor to enter a mental health diversion program. Sala, who has not returned multiple requests for comment, presented the court with a medical diagnosis conducted by doctors that Scrivner had been suffering from mental health disorders, including alcohol-use disorder, depression and anxiety, according to a report in the Bakersfield Californian.<\/a> Sala argued that a treatment program would be the best option for Scrivner, in keeping with the intent of the Legislature. <\/p>\n ln her ruling, Superior Court Judge Stephanie R. Childers sided with Sala, noting the state had \u201coffered no alternative\u201d to the medical diagnosis of Scrivner that had been submitted to the court, according to the Bakersfield Californian<\/a>.<\/p>\n In response, the state attorney general\u2019s office released a statement saying that it opposed the judge\u2019s decision and \u201cwe are reviewing our options.\u201d It added that the office filed charges that it believes the state \u201ccan prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.\u201d So far, the Kern County Superior Court has declined to release Scrivner\u2019s attorney\u2019s motion, stating it is confidential.<\/p>\n![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767881409_631_.jpeg\")
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