Please Support HB 211 --- Child Sexual Abuse, SOL, Penalties

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Issue:  Most children who are sexually abused do not talk about what happened until years after the crime.  Many are threatened by the abuser into silence.  Most are afraid and embarrassed about what happened.  Children of 12, 13, 14 and 15 years are targets of abusers who need to be able to bring charges after more than one (1) year from the time child sexual abuse occurs. Right now KY. laws make abuse at 12 or older a misdemeanor.

 

Issue:  Responsibility to report is commonly thought to not be a serious crime because the penalty is a class B misdemeanor and thousands of additional children are abused, raped and sodomized every year because no one knew about the abuser.  Studies differ on the number of victims a single abuser may have.  The numbers range up to 75 and 100.  Raising the penalty will raise awareness and bring attention and more responsibility for on-going abuse.  .

 

Sponsors: Jim Wayne, Joni Jenkins, Tom Burch

 

Additional Information

  1. KRS 510.110 defines child sexual abuse in the first degree as abuse up to 12 years of age and it is a class D felony.   Passage of HB 211 will take that age up to 16.  Thus bringing most all elementary and middle school students into this protection. 
  2. Passing HB 211 will add knowingly masturbating in the presence of the victim to the definition of abuse in 510.110.  It is part of the definition contained in the American Psychological Association’s definition of abuse and is part of the law in multiple other states.       
  3. Passing HB 211 will extend the statue of limitations on criminal abuse to the same 5 year extension that is already part of Kentucky’s civil law.  We are one of 7 states that have not extended the SOL as of 2007.
  4. Passing HB 211 will increase the penalty for not reporting the second time to a class A misdemeanor and failure to report the third time the penalty will be a class D felony.  KRS 510.015 already contains language that allows a third misdemeanor under 510 to be tried as a felony but the penalty for not reporting is found in 620.  This change will bring the penalty into consistency with the rest of KRS 510.

 

If you have questions please call:

Shannon at 502-290-4389 or e-mail at Shannon.protectourchildren@yahoo.com

Our web site is under development www.protectourchildrenky.com