“There are some very sick and scary people out there who are preying on our children, and we need to do whatever we can within our power to put them behind bars and keep them there,” said Sen. Cappiello. “This is very important legislation. Laws against child predators in Connecticut needed to be strengthened and this new law does just that.”

Under the new law a first conviction for aggravated sexual assault of a minor will result in a 25 year sentence but a second offense will be met with a mandatory 50 year sentence. This change was a result of the prosecutor's concern that any sentence of life imprisonment requires a probable cause hearing - a second hearing where a child victim would have to testify and face cross examination. In an effort to spare children from the trauma of testifying twice, and to prevent defense attorneys from having a second chance to derail a sentencing, a fifty year sentence was proposed.

The law also targets the increasing number of child sex crimes committed online by establishing mandatory minimum prison terms (5 yrs for a first offense, 10 yrs for a second) for adults who use the Internet to attempt to entice a child age 12 and under into sexual contact.

“This measure gained widespread support from the Chief States Attorney’s Office, prosecutors and advocates alike. Most important it puts Connecticut in line with other states that already have this law on the books, which ultimately gives law enforcement agencies more leverage when handling such crimes,” said Sen. Cappiello, who serves as a member of the Judiciary Committee.

The bill was patterned after Florida’s “Jessica’s Law,” that was passed in response to the kidnapping and killing of 9 year old Jessica Lunsford by a released pedophile.