PA Senators Introduce "Jessica's Law"
Legislation at Capitol News Conference with Jessica's
Father, Mark Lunsford
Sponsored by Orie & Rafferty, Law Would
Increase Penalties, Monitoring for Sexual Predators
HARRISBURG, PA -- Mark Lunsford, father of Jessica
Lunsford, for whom Florida's "Jessica's Law" is named,
joined Senators Jane Orie (R-40) and John Rafferty (R-44)
today at a news conference at the state Capitol to push for
a package of Child Safety legislation. The bills are
intended to impose tougher penalties for sexual predators,
provide more comprehensive monitoring of sex offenders, and
establish "predator alert systems" to identify repeat
offenders.
Orie and
Rafferty also announced legislation to create Jessica's Law
in Pennsylvania. The measure would include a minimum of 25
years in prison for anyone over 18 years of age who is
convicted of sexually assaulting a child under the age of
12, mandatory GPS monitoring for life, and a mandatory life
sentence for anyone convicted of a second offense.
The news
conference also featured a demonstration by a company that
currently offers GPS technology to track sex offenders.
Orie, a
former prosecutor and long-time child protection advocate,
said the legislation is part of a larger "Child Safety Act"
she and Rafferty are introducing that would create some of
the toughest laws in the nation to protect children from
sexual assault and monitor sex offenders.
Rafferty
said the package also includes measures to increase
penalties for child rape, establish Child Protection Zones,
establish penalties for harboring an unregistered sex
offender and create forfeiture laws for those convicted of
sex offenses.
Orie and
Rafferty are acting as part of a nationwide campaign to
implement severe sanctions against sexual predators who prey
on children under 12. After the kidnapping and murder of
9-year-old Jessica Lunsford by a convicted sex offender who
lived nearby, Florida Governor Jeb Bush signed similar
legislation. The senators want Pennsylvania to lead the way
in continuing this national effort. Currently, New York,
New Jersey and Connecticut are also considering instituting
Jessica's Law.
Senator
Orie chairs the Aging & Youth Committee, and Senator
Rafferty chairs the Law & Justice Committee.
According to the Pennsylvania State Police, there are over
7,100 registered sex offenders in the state. Last year,
sexual assault centers around the Commonwealth served
approximately 38,000 people, nearly a third of whom were
children. Children under 12 account for 34 percent of all
sexual assaults.
  Orie
Rafferty
# # #
At a July 28 Capitol news conference,
Sen. Jane Orie, left, and Sen. John Rafferty, right, unveiled a package of child protection bills,
including a "Pennsylvania Jessica's Law," intended
to crack down on sexual predators and provide for
stricter monitoring of sexual offenders. They were
joined by Mark Lunsford, center, whose daughter Jessica, bottom, was
raped and murdered five months ago by a convicted
sex offender in Florida.
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