Like every responsible person, I abhor the idea that there are people in the world who could sexually assault children. Yet rarely does a day go by when the horrifying details of what some people are capable of doing to children is graphically laid out for all to see. We in the Connecticut General Assembly can do something about pedophiles and child predators, by passing “Jessica’s Law” to increase mandatory minimum sentences for childhood sexual assault to 25 years in prison for the first offense, and 50 years in prison for the second.

I have co-sponsored Jessica’s Law in Connecticut, and have high hopes that it will become law in the next few weeks. The General Assembly’s Judiciary Committee recently took the first step toward protecting children from sexual predators by putting its stamp of approval on our version of Jessica’s Law, and I hope to bring it up for a vote in Senate in May.

The first Jessica’s Law was passed by the Florida legislature in the aftermath of the kidnapping murder of nine-year old Jessica Lunsford by a convicted sex offender on probation. At the time of Jessica’s murder, this criminal had served less than two years for breaking into a home and kidnapping and raping a young girl.

So far thirty-nine states have passed a version of Jessica’s Law. Basically, it calls for creating a new crime of aggravated sexual assault of a child younger than 13-years old. Conviction of a first offense would carry a mandatory minimum of 25 years imprisonment, while conviction of a second offense would carry a mandatory minimum of 50 years imprisonment.

There are three excellent reasons why our General Assembly should pass this law: to protect our children by removing dangerous pedophiles from society; to ensure that the legal penalty fits the heinous nature of the crime; and to create a legal tool that is more effective than plea bargaining in taking the most dangerous child sexual predators off the streets.

First, Connecticut needs a law on the books that takes these criminals off the streets for a very, very, long time. Even if the risk of spending a significant portion of one’s life behind bars is not enough to deter all sexual predators from making children their victims, society can at least prevent convicted pedophiles from creating new victims by imposing lengthy prison sentences.

Second, the penalties for sexually assaulting a child should fit the crime. Pedophiles bring terror into the lives of innocent children. That terror, that horror and that loss of innocence can last a lifetime. As citizens of a just society, we have the obligation to impose a punishment that reflects our understanding of what was taken from these young victims. Twenty-five years, or more, in prison is not too much to demand of sexual predators.

Third, I believe that these long sentences are more effective than shorter plea bargained agreements at protecting children. The only argument I have heard to date against Jessica’s Law is that it will hamper the ability of prosecutors to enter plea bargains with alleged pedophiles. Opponents say that more pedophiles will get off because it is harder to convict a pedophile than to simply plea bargain a light sentence. I believe this argument has a critical faulty assumption—that these plea bargains actually accomplish anything to protect our children or ensure justice. Having a pedophile back on the streets in eighteen months does nothing to protect our children or punish the offender. I believe that the potential for mandatory minimum sentences of 25 years for the first offense and 50 years for a second offense are more in line with justice for the victims, and are more likely to protect our children.

I encourage everyone interested in this issue to follow the progress of SB 1458 An Act Concerning Jessica’s Law as it makes its way through the legislative process by visiting the General Assembly website at www.cga.ct.gov and using the quick search function at the top of the page.