The son of a disgraced lawmaker has turned on his father for using an “Epstein loophole” to avoid spending time behind bars for allegedly touching children.
Speaking out for the first time, Robert Scrivner branded California’s mental health diversion law a “flawed system” after his father Zack dodged getting locked up.
“My own father, who is an elected official in Kern County, assaulted my siblings and myself and was granted mental health diversion,” Robert said during a press conference by State Senator Shannon Grove, who wants to rescind the loophole.
On Tuesday, Grove announced Senate Bill 1373, which would set limits on certain crimes for the mental health diversion law.
“My bill will ensure that those who commit violent crimes, such as attempted murder of a child, assault resulting in death and domestic violence, are no longer eligible for a mental health diversion program,” Grove said.
Scrivner was charged last February with child abuse and possession of assault weapons, The Postreported.
He avoided harsher charges of child sexual-assault because he was under the influence of drugs at the time and instead entered a mental-health diversion program.
Scrivner was accused of climbing into bed with the pre-teen child in April 2024 and touching her inappropriately.
The estranged wife of the former lawmaker, Christina, also spoke out during the press conference in favor of the bill.
“Faced with inexplicable trauma, my courageous children bravely and honorably shared the truth of their abuse,” Christina said.
“We tell our children to speak up, speak up for yourselves, tell the truth, be honest. My children were and they did.
“Their answer to their plea, their cry for help, was a stark reality of a broken system under mental health diversion,” she added.
Under California Law, mental health diversion allows eligible defendants with diagnosed mental health disorders to receive treatment instead of jail time.
California lawmakers have ripped the “Epstein loophole” that allowed Scrivner to dodge jail by entering the diversion program.
Critics of the 2018 program law said it’s being used as a get-out-of-jail free card by serious offenders.
“I specialize in family and addiction medicine, so I know the value of mental health diversion,” Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains said in a statement to the LA Times.
“It was designed to help people get treatment and rehabilitation in appropriate cases, not to provide an escape hatch to sexually assault children,” Bains added. “This Epstein loophole needs to be closed.”
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