| State Senator John A. Kissel, R-Enfield,
said today that a bill (SB 1458) has been raised by the legislature’s
Judiciary Committee increasing penalties against those convicted
of sex crimes against children. The legislation, also known
as “Jessica’s Law,” would create a new crime
of “aggravated sexual assault of a minor” if a
person commits a sex offense against a child under the age
of thirteen. The bill also sets out several aggravating factors
that would trigger the new law including kidnap, stalking
offenses and offenses against multiple victims. According
to Sen. Kissel, who serves as Ranking on the Judiciary Committee,
a public hearing will be held on the legislation on Wednesday,
April 4th, at 11:00 a.m., in hearing room 2C of the Legislative
Office Building in Hartford. “The
intention of this bill is to create something that would
strengthen our laws against child predators as well as give
prosecutors more leverage when handling such cases,”
said Sen. Kissel. “There has been a great deal of
debate as to whether or not mandatory minimum sentences
would make convictions less likely. This legislation addresses
those concerns.”
Subsequent to other sex offender proposals
introduced over the past few years that included mandatory
minimum sentences, some of which were met with widespread
opposition, Sen. Kissel began working with Connecticut’s
Chief State’s Attorney Kevin T. Kane to reach a workable
compromise. SB 1458 addresses those concerns and is the
proposed compromise.
This legislation changes the mandatory
penalty. Under this 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 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.
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