Court Opinion

ID: 9541459
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 16:25:39.554011+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:02:55.669118
License: Public Domain

SULLIVAN, J.
I dissent.
We deal here with the right and duty of respondent State Board of Education (Board) to discipline public schoolteachers for immoral or unprofessional conduct. The precise question before us is this: Did the Board properly revoke petitioner’s life diplomas upon determining that petitioner, while employed as a teacher, had committed homosexual acts and engaged in a homosexual relationship with a fellow teacher and that such acts constituted immoral and unprofessional conduct within the meaning of sections 13202 and 13209 of the Education Code?1
The record is clear and without dispute. Petitioner, while employed as a teacher in the Lowell Joint School District, engaged in homosexual acts with Fred Schneringer, also a public schoolteacher. The acts took place in petitioner’s apartment on four separate occasions, over a period of one week, in April 1963; both parties consented. It would serve no useful purpose to describe or detail them except to note that they did not fall within the statutory offenses of sodomy or oral copulation. Nor is it necessary to set forth the somewhat longer history of the relationship between the two men or interpret the overtones of petitioner’s testimony concerning it. Petitioner admitted the commission of the acts and acknowledged that they were homosexual acts; he makes the same admissions on this appeal. Nevertheless it should also be noted that although making these admissions before the hearing officer, petitioner specifically denied that what he had done was an immoral act or unprofessional conduct or “a situation of moral turpitude.” He also testified that he had become a homosexual at the age of 13, that he *241had received treatment in his “mid-twenties” before entering the teaching profession and that “there had been no homosexual contact either desired or actual, from my time of entering the teaching profession until the situation with Fred Schneringer.”2
In August 1965 an accustation was filed against petitioner with respondent Board alleging the foregoing incidents or at least one of them3 as cause for the revocation of petitoner’s life diplomas under sections 13202 and 13129 of the Education Code. (See Gov. Code, §§ 11501, 11503.) After a hearing at which petitioner appeared without counsel and testified, the hearing officer found that petitioner had committed acts involving immoral conduct in that (a) he engaged “in unnatural sex acts and practices of a homosexual nature” with Schneringer and (b) engaged “in a homosexual relationship” with the latter; that petitioner committed acts involving moral turpitude; that petitioner’s showing did not establish extenuation or mitigation; that the homosexual relationship developed during a period of time when petitioner was counseling Schneringer with respect to the latter’s marital problems; and that petitioner “does not regard his conduct as being censorable, and created the impression from his testimony that he was more concerned about Schneringer’s having terminated the homosexual relation with [petitioner] under circumstances that indicated to respondent that Schneringer preferred female companionship.”
The hearing officer concluded (under “Determination of Issues”) that petitioner violated sections 13202 and 13129 of the Education Code in that he (1) “Committed acts involving moral turpitude; (2) Committed acts involving unprofessional conduct.” Revocation of petitioner’s life diplomas was recommended. On March 11,1966, the Board adopted the decision of the hearing officer.
On February 14, 1967, petitioner sought in the superior court a writ of mandate commanding the Board to set aside its decision. In those proceedings, petitioner was represented by the same counsel who appears for him on this appeal. Upon the issuance of an alternative writ, the matter was submitted upon the administrative record which was received in evidence. The trial court, the Honorable Ralph Nutter, Judge, exercising its independent judgment on the evidence (Code Civ. Proc., § 1094.5, subd. (c); see Merrill v. Department of Motor Vehicles (1969) 71 Cal.2d 907, 913-916 [80 Cal.Rptr. 89, 458 P.2d 33]) found, so far as is here material, as *242follows: That the weight of the evidence adduced at the administrative hearing supported the findings of fact and the findings of fact supported the determination of issues; that the decision was fully supported by the findings of fact and the determination of issues; that, upon consideration of the evidence adduced at the administrative hearing, petitioner committed the homosexual acts involved and that “[tjhese acts involved moral turpitude and constituted unprofessional conduct....”
The trial court concluded that petitioner committed homosexual acts involving moral turpitude and that such acts constituted immoral and unprofessional conduct within the meaning of sections 13202 and 13209 of the Education Code; and that the action of the Board in revoking the life diplomas was correct “in that petitioner demonstrated he was unfit for service as a teacher in the California public school system within the meaning” (italics added) of the above sections. The court entered judgment discharging the alternative writ and denying the petition for the peremptory writ.
On appeal the Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Two, affirmed the denial of mandate in an opinion prepared by Presiding Justice Roth and concurred in by Justice Herndon and Justice Fleming, in which they declared that “we cannot say there is no rational connection between petitioner’s homosexual conduct and his fitness for service in the public school system.” I am firmly convinced that the superior court and the Court of Appeal correctly disposed of the matter. I must disagree with the analysis proffered by the majority opinion of this court. I would affirm the judgment.
Section 13202 of the Education Code which is at the center of this controversy provides in pertinent part: “The State Board of Education shall revoke or suspend for immoral or unprofessional conduct, ... or for any cause which would have warranted the denial of an application for a certification document or the renewal thereof, or for evident unfitness for service, life diplomas, documents, or credentials issued pursuant to this code.” Section 13129 of the same code provides that the Board “. . . may deny any application for the issuance of a credential or a life diploma . . . made by an applicant who . . . (e) Has committed any act involving moral turpitude. . . .” Although the first section is couched in mandatory terms and the second in permissive terms (§ 36),4 I do not think this is an issue since the Board did in fact impose discipline under section 13202.
The crucial question before us is whether the homosexual acts and relationship in which petitioner engaged constituted immoral or unprofessional conduct within the meaning of section 13202.
*243We have said that “The term ‘immoral’ has been defined generally as that which is hostile to the welfare of the general public and contrary to good morals. Immorality has not been confined to sexual matters, but includes conduct inconsistent with rectitude, or indicative of corruption, indecency, depravity, dissoluteness; or as wilful, flagrant, or shameless conduct showing moral indifference to the opinions of respectable members of the community, and as an inconsiderate attitude toward good order and the public welfare.” (Orloff v. Los Angeles Turf Club (1951) 36 Cal.2d 734, 740 [227 P.2d 449].)
In Sarac v. State Board of Education (1967) 249 Cal.App.2d 58 [57 Cal.Rptr. 69], the court upheld the Board’s revocation of a general secondary teaching credential pursuant to section 13202 upon the rationale that homosexual acts constituted immoral and unprofessional conduct within the compass of that section. In that case the acts were committed on a public beach and the teacher was arrested for violation of Penal Code section 647, subdivision (a), and convicted, on his plea of guilty, of violation of a municipal ordinance. However, the accusation filed before the Board charged that he was unfit for service in the public school system under section 13202 because of his conduct as well as because of the criminal proceedings occasioned by his conduct. There, as in the instant case, the trial court on review of the administrative proceedings concluded that the teacher had committed a homosexual act involving moral turpitude which conduct constituted both immoral and unprofessional conduct within the meaning of section 13202. There, as in the instant case, the trial court concluded that the teacher had demonstrated that he was unfit for service in the public school system. There, as in the instant case, on appeal from the trial court’s denial of a writ of mandate, the teacher challenged the Board’s action on the ground among others that it had failed to establish any rational connection between his homosexual conduct and “. . . immorality and unprofessional conduct as a teacher on his part and his fitness for service in the public schools;. . .” (249 Cal.App.2d at p. 62.)
The court’s rejection of the appeal in that case is a convincing answer to the question now confronting us: “. . . Homosexual behavior has long been contrary and abhorrent to the social mores and moral standards of the people of California as it has been since antiquity to those of many other peoples. It is clearly, therefore, immoral conduct within the meaning of Education Code, section 13202. It may also constitute unprofessional conduct within the meaning of that same statute as such conduct is not limited to classroom misconduct or misconduct with children. (See Beilan v. Board of Public Education, 357 U.S. 399, 406-408 [2 L.Ed.2d 1414, 78 S.Ct. 1317].) It certainly constitutes evident unfitness for service in the public school system within the meaning of that statute. (Cf. Ed. Code, *244§§ 13206-13208.) In view of appellant’s statutory duty as a teacher to ‘endeavor to impress upon the minds of the pupils the principles of morality’ (Ed. Code, § 7851) and his necessarily close association with children in the discharge of his professional duties as a teacher, there is to our minds an obvious rational connection between his homosexual conduct on the beach and the consequent action of respondent in revoking his secondary teaching credential on the statutory grounds of immoral and unprofessional conduct and evident unfitness for service in the public school system of this state.” (249 Cal.App.2d at pp. 63-64.)
The majority argue that Sarac is distinguishable from the instant case on its facts. It is asserted that the teacher’s homosexual conduct occurred on a public beach, whereas this petitioner’s conduct occurred in the privacy of his apartment. Apparently this asserted difference reflects the view that, absent a criminal offense, petitioner’s private life is his own business and the state “. . . must not arbitrarily impair the right of the individual to live his private life, apart from his job, as he deems fit. . . .” But the clandestine character of petitioner’s acts did not render them any the less homosexual acts. These still remained, to borrow the language of Sarac “. . . contrary and abhorrent to the social mores and moral standards of the people of California. . . .” (Sarac v. State Board of Education, supra, 249 Cal.App.2d 58, 63.) It would be fatuous to assume that such acts became reprehensible only if committed in public. One would not expect petitioner and Schneringer to commit the acts here involved (which, as I have said, need not be detailed) in full view of the citizenry.
It is also asserted by the majority that the teacher in Sarac pleaded guilty to and was convicted of a criminal charge. However, as I have pointed out, the accusation filed with the Board, in that case was based primarily on the teacher’s homosexual conduct.5 Indeed, it is manifest from the opinion in Sarac, that it was the teacher’s homosexual conduct, apart from his subsequent arrest, which fell within the compass of section 13202 and warranted revocation of his credentials. (Sarac v. State Board of Education, supra, 249 Cal.App.2d 58, 62-63.) Nowhere in the statute is there a requirement that the conduct must constitute a crime before the diploma or credential can be suspended or revoked. In fact other sections of the *245Education Code provide for the revocation of any credential for conviction of specified crimes (§ 13206)6 or sex offenses (§ 13207).7 Therefore, not only from an examination of the language of the sections but also from a consideration of the sections in the light of the full statutory pattern, it is clear that sections 13202 and 13129 apply to a teacher’s immoral and *246unprofessional conduct and to his acts of moral turpitude, even though such conduct does not constitute a crime.
The court in Sarac also sustained the trial court’s finding that the homosexual act there committed was one involving moral turpitude. As already stated, a similar finding and determination were made in the instant matter not only in the administrative proceedings but also in the superior court proceedings on review. The determination is unassailable. Although we have recognized on occasion that the problem of defining moral turpitude is not without difficulty (In re Hallinan (1954) 43 Cal.2d 243, 247 [272 P.2d 768]; In re Hatch (1937) 10 Cal.2d 147, 150-151 [73 P.2d 885]), nevertheless this court has for many years followed the lodestar of Matter of Coffey (1899) 123 Cal. 522, 524 [56 P. 448], which relying on Bouvier, defined moral turpitude as “. . . everything done contrary to justice, honesty, modesty or good morals. . . .” (See for example: Marlowe v. State Bar (1965) 63 Cal.2d 304, 308 [46 Cal.Rptr. 326, 405 P.2d 150]; Arden v. State Bar (1959) 52 Cal.2d 310, 321 [341 P.2d 6]; Call v. State Bar (1955) 45 Cal.2d 104, 109 [287 P.2d 761]; In re McAllister. (1939) 14 Cal.2d 602, 603 [95 P.2d 932]; In re Hatch, supra, 10 Cal.2d 147, 150-151 [73 P.2d 885]; Jacobs v. State Bar (1933) 219 Cal. 59, 64 [25 P.2d 401]; Lantz v. State Bar (1931) 212 Cal. 213, 218 [298 P. 497].)
In In re Boyd (1957) 48 Cal.2d 69 [307 P.2d 625] this court ordered the suspension from the practice of law of an attorney convicted on his plea of guilty of a violation of former Penal Code section 647, subdivision 5, providing that “ . . . [e]very lewd or dissolute person is a vagrant. . . .” The court held that the acts constituting the offense in question involved moral turpitude, declaring: “Moral turpitude has been defined as: ‘An act of baseness, vileness, or depravity in the private and social duties which a man owes to his fellow men or to society in general, contrary.to the accepted and customary rule of right and duty between man and man.’ [Citations.] [Par.] No citation of authority or argument is needed to support the conclusion that the conduct of petitioner fell within the purview of the above definition. His offense was one of depravity, contrary to the accepted and customary rule of right and duty between man and man, and was therefore an offense involving moral turpitude. The act was committed in a public place. Without further recitation of the facts, it is enough to say that such conduct is unworthy of a member of the legal profession.” (48 Cal.2d at p. 70.)
If the foregoing applies to an attorney whose professional contacts presumably are almost invariably with adults, how much more significant is the rationale when applied to a school teacher whose professional duties are directed exclusively towards the moral as well as the intellectual, social and civic development of young and impressionable minds. Section 13556.5 *247enjoins all teachers to . . endeavor to impress upon the minds of the pupils the principles of morality, truth, justice, patriotism. . . .”8 Quite apart from this statutory mandate, petitioner stood in loco parentis; his young charges looked to him as the person taking the place of their parents during school hours. They looked to him not only for explicit words of guidance but as an example of good conduct. Nevertheless, as the board and the trail court determined, he not only was a potential danger to them because of his immoral acts but especially so because of his insistence that such acts which he frankly admitted, were not in his view immoral at all.
In view of the foregoing, as I have already said, I am in agreement with the trial court and the Court of Appeal, and like them, I cannot say on this record that there is no rational connection between petitioner’s homosexual acts and his fitness for service in the public school system.
A considerable part of the majority opinion is devoted to a consideration of the terms “immoral conduct,” “unprofessional conduct,” and “moral turpitude” in a wide variety of contexts other than that of the teaching profession and in reference to numerous occupations having no relevance to the instant problem, which need not be enumerated and require no attention other than to say they cover a range from barbers to veterinarians. After a survey of this catalogue, the majority posit the following views, among others: That in using the above-quoted terms, “the Legislature surely did not mean to endow the employing agency with the power to dismiss any employee whose personal, private conduct incurred its disapproval”; that unless a reasonable and restrictive interpretation of the term is adopted, the statutes before us would possibly “subject to discipline virtually every teacher in the state”; that the Legislature for example did not intend to compel disciplinary action against teachers for “peccadillos” or “passing conduct” if it “did not affect students or fellow teachers”; that “incidents of extramarital heterosexual conduct against a background of years of satisfactory teaching would not constitute ‘immoral conduct’ sufficient to justify revocation of a life diploma without any showing of an adverse effect on fitness to teach”; that by enacting section 13202 the Legislature did not intend “to establish a standard for the conduct of teachers that might vary widely with time, location, and the popular mood”; that the meaning of the above terms “must depend upon, and thus relate to, the occupation involved. . . .”; and that the Board “cannot abstractly characterize the conduct in this case as ‘immoral,’ ‘unprofessional,’ or ‘involving moral turpitude.’ ”
Finally from this extensive disquisition the majority arrive at the conclu*248sion that “Petitioner’s actions cannot constitute immoral or unprofessional conduct or conduct involving moral turpitude within the meaning of section. 13202 unless those actions indicate his unfitness to teach.” But, assuming arguendo that this thesis has some validity, while reserving full acceptance of the opinion’s ethical relativism, the plain, hard fact of the matter is that petitioner’s conduct did indicate his unfitness to teach—indeed as the learned trial judge determined:—demonstrated that petitioner was unfit for service as a teacher in the public schools.
Faced with this decision made by the Board with its expertise in educational matters upon a record vividly disclosing the homosexual acts involved, the majority nevertheless maintain that the record “contains no evidence whatsoever” indicating petitioner’s unfitness to teach. Initially they assert that the Board called no medical, psychological, or psychiatric experts for an opinion as to the likelihood of petitioner’s repeating the acts. Nowhere do I find in the Education Code, nor does the majority point out, that such evidence is indispensable to proceedings under the statute. The majority further argue that the Board offered no evidence that petitioner would be more likely to act improperly towards a student “than the average adult male”9 and no evidence as to whether “petitioner might publicly advocate improper conduct.” The majority opinion also asserts that no evidence was produced that petitioner failed to impress on the minds of his pupils the principles of morality as required by former section 7851. I am afraid that in all of this my colleagues of the majority lose sight of the fact that we are reviewing the record as brought before us, not the record which might have been more to their liking.
Petitioner made no attempt to introduce any of the evidence which.the majority now deem so crucial and even indispensable and the Board found that the showing he did make did not establish extenuation or mitigation. While I realize that he chose to appear before the Board without counsel, nevertheless he did have counsel at all times during the proceedings in the trial court. Nevertheless at no time in the trial court did he offer to produce any additional evidence (see Code Civ. Proc., § 1094.5, subd. (d); see also Merrill v. Department of Motor Vehicles, supra, 71 Cal.2d 907, 914, fn. 10 and accompanying text), much less any evidence which the majority deem so essential, contenting himself with submitting the matter on the administrative transcript.
*249Finally, I point out that, if the record of the procedures before the Board and the superior court were as defective as the majority would make it out to be in that it lacks “essential factual premises” and contains “erroneous findings and conclusions,” petitioner’s counsel made no effort to bring such defects or errors to the attention of the trial court by appropriate objections or requests for specific findings (Code Civ. Proc., § 634) or to move for a new trial, (Code Civ. Proc., § 657) or to move to vacate the judgment and enter a different judgment (Code Civ. Proc., § 663). A short answer to all this is that, as two reviewing courts have already determined, the record is not inadequate, is free of error, and is fully supportive of the Board’s action.
In sum, the majority opinion boils down to this: “. . . the Board failed to show that petitioner’s conduct in any manner affected his performance as a teacher” and “petitioner is entitled to a careful and reasoned inquiry into his fitness to teach by the Board of Education before he is deprived of his right to pursue his profession.” Taking this position, the majority remand this case to the superior court presumably, although they do not say so, to be remanded by that court in turn to the Board.
I feel it my duty to observe, with all due respect to the majority, that this action is taken without proper recognition of our function of review in cases of administrative boards as recently spelled out by this court unanimously in the Merrill case. (See Merrill v. Department of Motor Vehicles, supra, 71 Cal.2d 907.) To recapitulate: The Board in this case found on overwhelming evidence, indeed on the frank but unrepentent admissions of petitioner, that he had committed homosexual acts with another teacher and concluded that these acts constituted immoral and unprofessional conduct and acts involving moral turpitude. The trial court reached the same conclusion. The majority opinion is silent on this point. Yet I would respectfully suggest that it is an essential step in any process of reasoning which seeks to strike down the Board’s action. Were petitioner’s acts immoral or not? Or was he perhaps correct after all in maintaining they were not? The majority do not answer this question; nevertheless they reverse the judgment and remand the cause to the trial court for further proceedings. I would think that under the circumstances the question should be answered for the guidance of the court below on retrial; that court, as well as the Board, should be told whether or not they were in error in concluding that petitioner’s homosexual acts were immoral and involved moral turpitude. As I said at the beginning, this is the pivotal question and I think it was correctly answered by the Board, the trial judge and the three appellate justices.
This brings me to the next step in the record. The Board, possessing *250expertise in passing upon the fitness of teachers for the public school system and having the petitioner before it, hearing his testimony, and reviewing his immoral and unprofessional conduct, determined that he was unfit and revoked his diplomas. The trial court, reviewing' this administrative record which petitioner chose not to augment, arrived at the same findings and conclusions, and found or concluded (it makes little difference how we categorize it) that petitioner had demonstrated his unfitness and that the decision of the Board was correct.
Finally, I am unable to understand how the majority can reject the pertinent precedent and compelling rationale of the Sarac case (Sarac v. State Board of Education, supra, 249 Cal.App.2d 58) as being distinguishable, which it is not, and embrace the out-of-state decision of Norton v. Macy (D.C. Cir. 1969) 417 F.2d 1161 as one closely resembling the instant case, which it definitely does not. Norton involved a federal employee charged with off-duty homosexual conduct. He was not a school teacher, much less one who had committed the acts with a fellow teacher; he was not, like this petitioner, a person charged with the responsibility of impressing the principles of morality on young minds; so far as appears, he had no dealings with children at all, nor, so far as appears, was he a person like petitioner, who while frankly admitting homosexual acts, insisted nevertheless that he had done nothing immoral. In Norton the court stated that “the employer agency must demonstrate some ‘rational basis’ for its conclusion that a discharge ‘will promote the efficiency of the service.’ ‘The ultimate criterion [is] whether the employer acted reasonably. . . .’ ” It found the dismissal arbitrary because the employer had shown no such basis.
In the instant case, both the Board and the trial court concluded that petitioner was unfit. I cannot say there is no rational connection between petitioner’s homosexual acts and his fitness to teach. As the trial court properly determined, the Board’s findings were supported by the weight of the evidence and its determination of the issues was supported by its findings. The Board, therefore, did not abuse its discretion. (Code Civ. Proc., § 1094.5, subd. (c).) We have no right to upset its action. I would affirm the judgment of the trial court.
McComb, J., concurred.

Hereafter, unless otherwise indicated, all section references are to the Education Code.

At the time of the administrative hearing in December 1965 petitioner was 39 years old which would indicate he was about 37 years old at the time of the acts involved. He resigned from the Lowell Joint School District in May 1964.

The accusation and other administrative pleadings are not in the instant record.

Section 36 provides: “ ‘Shall’ is mandatory and ‘may’ is permissive.”

According to the opinion in Sarac the accusation filed with the Board “. . . charged him in substance with having engaged in immoral and unprofessional conduct within the meaning of Education Code, section 13202, in having ... at a public beach. . . .’’committed homosexual acts, describing them. It then recited the teacher’s conviction and charged that he was unfit for service as a teacher “. . . because of this conduct by him on the beach, because of the just-mentioned criminal proceedings against him occasioned by such conduct, and because of two admissions he had made to said Bowers on or about the said July 28, 1962, that he had had a homosexual problem since he was 20 years old and that the last time he had had sexual relations with a man was approximately three weeks earlier.” (249 Cal.App.2d at pp. 60-61.)

Section 13206 provides: "Upon the becoming final of the conviction of the holder of any credential, including a life diploma, or document, issued by the State Board of Education of a violation, or attempted violation, of any one or more of Penal Code Sections 187 to 191, 192 insofar as said section relates to voluntary manslaughter, 193, 194-232, both inclusive, 244, 245, 261 to 267, both inclusive, 273a, 273f, 273g, 278, 285 to 288a, both inclusive, 424, 425, 484 to 488, both inclusive, insofar as said sections relate to felony convictions, 503 and 504, or of Penal Code Section 272, the State Board of Education shall forthwith revoke the credential, life diploma, or document.” (Italics added.)

 Section 13207 provides in pertinent part: “Whenever the holder of any credential, life diploma, or document issued by the State Board of Education has been convicted of any sex offense as defined in Section 12912 . . . the State Board of Education shall forthwith suspend the credential, life diploma, or document. If the conviction is reversed and the holder is acquitted of the offense in a new trial or the charges against him are dismissed, the board shall forthwith terminate the suspension of the credential, life diploma, or document. When the conviction becomes final or when imposition of sentence is suspended the board shall forthwith revoke the credential, life diploma, or document.” (Italics added.)
Section 12912 provides: “ ‘Sex offenses’ as used in [section] 13207 . . . means any one or more of the offenses listed below:
(a) Any offense defined in Sections 266, 267, 285, 286, 288, 288a, 647a, subdivision 3 or 4 of Section 261, or subdivisions (a) or (d) of Section 647 of the Penal Code.
(b) Any offense defined in former subdivision 5 of former Section 647 of the Penal Code repealed by Chapter 560 of the Statutes of 1961, or any offense defined in former subdivision 2 of former Section 311 of the Penal Code repealed by Chapter 2147 of the Statutes of 1961 if the offense defined in such sections was committed prior to September 15, 1961, to the same extent that such an offense committed prior to such date was a sex offense for the purposes of this section prior to September 15, 1961.
(c) Any offense defined in Section 314 of the Penal Code committed on or after September 15, 1961.
(d) Any offense defined in former subdivision 1 of former Section 311 of the Penal Code repealed by Chapter 2147 of the Statutes of 1961 committed on or after September 7, 1955, and prior to September 15, 1961.
(e) Any offense involving lewd and lascivious conduct under Section 272 of the Penal Code committed on or after September 15, 1961.
(f) Any offense involving lewd and lascivious conduct under former Section 702 of the Welfare and Institutions Code repealed by Chapter 1616 of the Statutes of 1961 if such offense was committed prior to September 15, 1961, to the same extent that such an offense committed prior to such date was a sex offense for the purposes of this section prior to September 15, 1961.
(g) Any attempt to commit any of the above-mentioned offenses.
(h) Any offense committed or attempted in any other state which, if committed or attempted in this State, would have been punishable as one or more of the above-mentioned offenses.”

The same language appeared in former section 7851 upon which section 13556.5 is based, as said former section read at the time of the commission of petitioner’s acts.

On this point, we find an interesting sidelight in that portion of petitioner’s testimony dealing with the gradual weakening and eventual termination of his friendship with Schneringer. “At any rate, during that trip, which was after our homosexual relationship, Mr. Schneringer with his younger son, were having qualms that 1 would take advantage of the child, and indeed I did not . . . .”