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	House Panel Approves Measure to Toughen Child Sexual Abuse Laws Associated Press, carried on Kentucky.com February 20, 2008 http://www.kentucky.com/471/story/323814.html FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A measure that would hold teachers, priests and others in positions of authority more accountable for child sexual abuse has cleared its first legislative hurdle. The House Judiciary Committee approved legislation on Wednesday, sending it to the full House for consideration. Louisville Democratic state Rep. Jim Wayne said the measure is crucial if Kentucky children are to be protected from sexual abuse. "This problem is of epidemic proportions in our society," Wayne said. "What we're trying to do is say, this is not just clergy; this is not just camp counselors; this is not just teachers. We're talking about relatives, we're talking about parents who abuse their children sexually, aunts, uncles, siblings." People in positions of authority over children could be charged with first-degree sexual abuse, a felony, for having sexual contact of any nature with anyone under 18 years old. Under current law in Kentucky, teachers break no criminal laws by having sex with students, as long as the students are at least 16 years old and willing participants. That would change under Wayne's proposal. Among other provisions, the bill also would increase the statute of limitations to five years after an abuse victim's 18th birthday, and ups the penalty for not reporting abuse to authorities. The measure has widespread support, including an endorsement by Catholic bishops in Kentucky. Ed Monahan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Kentucky, read a statement from the bishops encouraging lawmakers to pass the bill. "The church has experienced a crisis without precedent in our times," the statement said. "The sexual abuse of children by priests and others and the ways these crimes and sins were addressed have caused unspeakable pain. No child should ever be abused by anyone, especially those who work for the church. The bishops express great sorrow and profound regret for the pain so many have endured." Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, said authorities in the state received 3,315 reports of sexual abuse in 2006, of which more than 1,000 were substantiated. He said many other cases likely went unreported. Democratic state Rep. Kathy Stein of Lexington, chairwoman of the House Judiciary Committee, is sponsoring legislation that would allow teachers to be charged with statutory rape for having sex with students between 16 and 18 years old. That would be done by raising the state's age of consent from 16 to 18. Stein said Wayne's legislation would accomplish her goals, so she has no plans to push her legislation. Her proposal was a reaction to the large number of sexual misconduct allegations against teachers in Kentucky and nationally. In Kentucky, education officials handled nearly 100 sexual misconduct allegations against teachers from 2001 through 2005. The allegations ranged from minor violations like using sexual language to more serious, criminal acts such as inappropriate touching and even sodomy and rape. Similar allegations led states across the country to take action against the teaching licenses of 2,570 educators over the five-year period, according to a seven-month Associated Press investigation. Young people were the victims in at least 1,801 of the cases, and more than 80 percent of those were students.
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