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	Lawmakers May Look at Sentences for Child Abusers Associated Press, carried in Idaho Statesman January 26, 2009 http://www.idahostatesman.com/235/story/646416.html BOISE, Idaho — Idaho lawmakers might consider setting mandatory minimum sentences for people convicted of lewd conduct with a minor younger than 16 and sexual abuse of a child younger than 16. A bill that has yet to be sponsored calls for a minimum of seven years in prison for a lewd conduct conviction, and five years for a sexual abuse of a child conviction. "I think it's something that needs to be looked at," Rep. Mack Shirley, R-Rexburg, told the Post Register. "We need to provide all the protection we can." But Linda Copple Trout, a former chief justice of the Idaho Supreme Court, said it's important for judges to have sentencing options when dealing with individual crimes. "It gives the judge the option to take into account all different kinds of factors when fashioning a sentence," she said. Pocatello resident Paul Steed, whose two sons were molested by a former Boy Scout camp counselor, wants lawmakers to consider the bill. He wants to eliminate the chance of some sex offenders receiving light sentences. "That's our problem," Steed said. "We have a disparity of sentencing across the state." Steed in 2006 helped persuade lawmakers to eliminate the statute of limitations on child abuse. In 2007 he got lawmakers to pass a law allowing victims to sue their abusers as many as five years after learning they had been molested. Besides Shirley, Steed also has the support of Sen. Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, and Rep. James Ruchti, D-Pocatello. Hill said he typically doesn't support taking away judicial discretion. "This is one of the very few crimes that's an exception," Hill said. "This is just the kind of offense that demands mandatory minimums." Bonneville County Prosecutor Dane Watkins said mandatory minimum sentences can be both good and bad. "As a prosecutor, I think you have to be cautious about mandatory minimums," Watkins said. "(But) at the end of the day, I think mandatory minimums should be looked at for sex offenders."
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