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	Bill Toughens Penalties for Sexual Abusers Most Offenses Would Be Felonies By Peter Smith Courier-Journal February 21, 2008 http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080221/NEWS0101/802210390/1008/NEWS01 FRANKFORT, Ky. — A bill strengthening penalties for sexual abusers and those who fail to report them passed the House Judiciary Committee unanimously yesterday. The vote came after committee members listened in somber quiet to the gripping testimony of abuse victims and their advocates. House Bill 211 now goes to the full House and could be voted on within the next week, said its lead sponsor, Rep. Jim Wayne, D-Louisville. "What this does is create a climate where people understand we are taking the abuse of children seriously in this state," Wayne said. "Quite simply, we will not tolerate it." The bill raises from misdemeanors to felonies several types of sexual abuse of minors, and it also imposes progressively steeper penalties for people who fail to report sexual abuse to authorities. Among those testifying for the bill, which has more than 20 House sponsors from both parties, were representatives of Kentucky Youth Advocates, the lay Catholic reform group Voice of the Faithful and the Catholic Conference of Kentucky, representing the state's bishops. In recent years, the Archdiocese of Louisville and the Diocese of Covington have agreed to pay a combined total of more than $100 million to victims of sexual abuse by priests. "The church has experienced a crisis without precedent in our time," said conference executive director Ed Monahan. "Sexual abuse of children by priests and others, and the way those crimes and sins were addressed, have caused unspeakable harm. 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." Rep. Kathy Stein, D-Lexington, predicted that the bill will pass the General Assembly, saying it's "very difficult to be against" such legislation. Under the bill, most forms of sexual abuse would be a felony if committed against anyone up to age 16. Under current law, some forms of abuse of those 12 and older are misdemeanors, which carry a lesser penalty and cannot be prosecuted more than a year after the offense or when the victim turns 18. Felonies have no statute of limitations on when they can be prosecuted. In addition, abuse of anyone up to 18 would be considered a felony when committed by someone in a "position of trust or authority" under the bill's provisions. It wasn't just abuse within the church that drew support for the bill, under which perpetrators in a "position of trust" could be family members, educators, coaches or other youth workers. Jeanne Tessier, a pediatric chaplain at Kosair Children's Hospital, told the committee that she suffered sexual abuse while growing up. She said such abuse is "violence and the brutal exercise of power," adding that tougher laws should lead to greater and quicker outside intervention. She told of caring for abuse victims at Kosair as young as 3 months old, "destined to live the rest of their lives on full alert, anticipating and expecting the next person they encounter to do them harm." Most committee members spoke in favor of the bill, and Rep. Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, urged that one provision of the bill be updated to reflect Internet technology. That provision would make it a felony for an adult to knowingly masturbate in view of a minor, and Wayne said he would support a revision that would make it a felony to do so via an electronic image. Rep. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, said she understood the motives for the bill but questions the added cost of more inmates who would be incarcerated under the stricter laws. But Wayne cited statistics that a large number of criminals were themselves once victims of abuse and didn't get help at the time. "This is costing the state an awful lot of money because of the wounds that do not heal," he said. She also questioned portions of the bill making it possible to prosecute offenses years after they allegedly took place, saying it would create a "patchwork" of statutes of limitations. In some cases, she said, patients in therapy incorrectly are led to believe they were abused years earlier. "To be accused of these crimes is about as life-destroying" as the crimes themselves, said Webb, an attorney. But Shannon Whelan of the group Voice of the Faithful said an exception is needed. "Kids don't talk about it when they're abused," she said. "It may take several years for the abuse to be verbalized if they ever do." Reporter Peter Smith can be reached at (502) 582-4469 or: psmith@courier-journal.com.
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