NEW HAMPSHIRE
Union Leader
By DAVID SOLOMON
New Hampshire Union Leader
CONCORD — A proposal to change state law regarding evidence in sexual assault cases amounts to “nothing more than a pedophile protection act and rapist shield law,” according to Concord Police Detective Sean Ford.
But the sponsor of House Bill 106, Rep. William Marsh, R-Wolfeboro, says no one should be charged, let alone convicted, solely on the basis of an alleged victim’s testimony with no other corroboration.
The two men took turns at the witness table on Tuesday, as the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee heard nearly four hours of testimony on a bill that would require the allegations of victims to be corroborated by other evidence in sexual assault cases where the defendant has no prior conviction.
Marsh, a board certified ophthalmologist, said he was moved to sponsor the bill after Bow psychologist Foad Afshar was convicted last year of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old male patient in 2015 solely on the patient’s testimony.
The hearing room was packed with opponents of the bill, many mobilized by the N.H. Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, wearing pink stickers that read, “I believe victims. Oppose HB 106.”
– See more at: http://www.unionleader.com/state-government/Proposed-change-in-sexual-assault-statute-called-pedophile-protection-01182017#sthash.2AXUdJm1.dpuf
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