A bill banning registered sex offenders from representing young talent in California has been signed into law after winning broad support in Hollywood from film studios, actors unions, agents and managers.

Awareness of child sexual abuse has changed dramatically in the wake of the Penn State scandal that resulted in the conviction of former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky on 45 counts involving 10 boys. The matter struck closer to home when The Times reported last fall that a convicted child molester had been helping cast child actors in mainstream Hollywood movies. Within weeks, another case surfaced: Longtime child talent manager Martin Weiss was arrested Nov. 29 on suspicion of child molestation. He pleaded no contest in June to two counts of molestation. An examination by The Times identified at least a dozen child molestation and child pornography prosecutions since 2000 involving actors, managers, production assistants and others in the industry, based on court documents and published accounts. Advocates and professionals who work with victims of child sexual abuse say predators exploit the glittery allure of Hollywood to prey on aspiring actors or models.

“Instead of blaming the stage parents or blaming the kids for being in the industry, suddenly pedophilia was in their face in the schools and colleges and in Hollywood,” said Henry, whose group conducted a campaign to build support for the bill. “And they realized this was probably more common than anybody thought.”

So what good is this bill if it's not enforced?