The son of a disgraced politician has publicly condemned his father for exploiting a legal loophole, often referred to as the “Epstein loophole,” to evade jail time for allegedly abusing children.
In his first public statement, Robert Scrivner criticized California’s mental health diversion law, calling it a “flawed system” that allowed his father, Zack Scrivner, to avoid imprisonment. Zack, an elected official in Kern County, has been accused of assaulting Robert and his siblings but was granted mental health diversion instead.
Robert shared his concerns during a press conference led by State Senator Shannon Grove, who is advocating for the closure of this loophole. Grove is pushing for legislative change to prevent such abuses of the law.
On Tuesday, Senator Grove put forward Senate Bill 1373, aiming to place restrictions on the application of the mental health diversion law for specific crimes.
“My bill will ensure that individuals committing violent crimes, such as attempted murder of a child, assault resulting in death, and domestic violence, are disqualified from accessing a mental health diversion program,” Grove stated.
Last February, Zack Scrivner faced charges of child abuse and possession of assault weapons, according to reports from The Post.
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.”
