BishopAccountability.org
	New Law Targets Sex Crime Offenders Lex 18 July 13, 2008 http://www.lex18.com/Global/story.asp?S=8667312&nav=EQlp FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Teachers, coaches and priests convicted of sex crimes against children will face longer prison sentences beginning Tuesday. That's when a long list of new laws, many of them intended to protect children, go into effect. "You can't legislate morality, but you can make sure people know if they do something they shouldn't to a child that something will be done to them," said state Rep. Rick Nelson, D-Middlesboro, a former teacher. Under one of the most publicized new laws, people in positions of authority over children face felony criminal charges for having any form of sexual contact with the minors they oversee. State Rep. Jim Wayne, who ushered the law through the General Assembly earlier this year, said it also closes a long-standing loophole under which teachers broke no criminal laws by having sex with students, as long as the students were at least 16 years old and willing participants. In addition, the law increases the statute of limitations on misdemeanor sex crimes, giving victims, who were minors at the time, until their 23rd birthday to press charges. Ordinarly, the statute of limitations on misdemeanors is one year. It also increases jail time for people who know about instances of sexual abuse but do not tell authorities. 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, sodomy and rape.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.