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	House Backs Tougher Sex-Abuse Penalties By Peter Smith Courier-Journal February 28, 2008 http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080228/NEWS0101/80228045/1008/NEWS01 The Kentucky House voted 96-0 today to approve a bill that would toughen penalties on sexual abusers and those who fail to report them to authorities. The bill — which now goes to the Senate — passed after its sponsor told colleagues of the decades of turmoil his late father had suffered after being molested as a boy by a Roman Catholic priest in 1930. "A tragedy occurred that night," said Rep. Jim Wayne, D-Louisville. "In his 70s, he told his family about this tragedy and how upsetting it was and how really it impaired his relation to God as well as to his church." House Bill 211, prompted by similar revelations in recent years of sexual abuse by clergy, teachers and other authority figures, would make sexual contact with someone younger than 16 a felony if committed by someone older than 21. And anyone in a position of authority or trust — such as a family member, teacher, employer, clergy member or coach — who has sexual contact with someone younger than 18 could be charged with a felony. Contact: psmith@courier-journal.com
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