BATON ROUGE (LA)
The Times-Picayune
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
By Ed Anderson
Capital bureau
BATON ROUGE -- A bill designed to make it harder for sex offenders to get out of jail on bail was approved by a House committee Tuesday.
Without objection, the Committee on the Administration of Criminal Justice approved House Bill 451 by Rep. Brett Geymann, R-Lake Charles, sending it to the House floor for debate.
Geymann's bill requires a bond hearing in front of a judge when a convicted sex offender has been arrested on a subsequent sex charge involving a victim younger than 13.
Lake Charles City Councilman Rob Corquodale, a former prosecutor, said a judge now sets the bond for a sex offender when an arrest warrant is issued without taking any testimony or finding out the violator's background.
Under Geymann's bill, the district attorney would present evidence to the judge on the alleged attacker's background before bond is set.
Posted by kshaw at May 25, 2005 06:55 AM