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	House OKs Tougher Sex-Offender Penalties Bill's Sponsor Describes Father's Abuse by Priest By Peter Smith The Courier-Journal February 29, 2008 http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080229/NEWS0101/802290401 The Kentucky House approved a bill yesterday that would strengthen penalties for sexual abusers and those who fail to report them to authorities. The vote on House Bill 211 -- which now goes to the Senate -- was 96-0. Passage came after the bill's 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." HB 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. "Kentucky needs laws that recognize the seriousness of offenses committed by sexual predators, particularly those who use positions of authority to abuse children," Wayne said. Currently some forms of sexual contact with minors older than 11 -- other than rape and sodomy -- are considered misdemeanors. As felonies, such crimes would carry heavier sentences and could be prosecuted years into the future. Misdemeanors generally have a one-year statute of limitations. The few sex crimes involving minors that would remain misdemeanors would have a five-year statute of limitations under the bill. Advocates say victims often take years to come to terms with their abuse and report it to authorities. "We need to make it easier for victims to bring charges against their abusers later in their lives," Wayne said. While his father did not bring legal action in the case, Wayne said he was abused by a priest who has since died and who was accused of abuse in another person's lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Louisville several years ago. That suit was later settled. The bill also imposes progressively steeper penalties for people who repeatedly fail to report sexual abuse to authorities. Backers of the bill include the Catholic Conference of Kentucky and the Kentucky Baptist Convention -- representing the two largest religious groups in Kentucky -- as well as Kentucky Youth Advocates, the Family Foundation of Kentucky and Protect Our Children KY, a coalition of victims' advocates from various religious groups. Nearly 30 legislators "from the left to the right" signed on as co-sponsors to the bill, Wayne said. Reporter Peter Smith can be reached at (502) 582-4469 or psmith@courier-journal.com.
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