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Wisconsin’s state legislators were mulling over the idea of implementing a very harsh penalty for child sex offenders.
Senator Chris Kopenga has written a bill that WKOW says would bring back the death penalty for “certain child sex offenses.”
We reached out to Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, who admitted that since the bill has not been introduced, he did not have a chance to review it.
However, he did offer a little bit more background.
A draft of the bill has been circulated for co-sponsorship, and Sen. LeMahieu noted that version would “allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty for those convicted of specified instances of first-degree sexual assault of a child, which include sexual contact or sexual intercourse with a person who is under 13 if great bodily harm results or sexual intercourse with a person who is under 12.”
He also noted that DNA evidence tying the suspect to the crime would be required in order for the death penalty to apply.
Under current law, it is a Class A felony to have sexual contact or sexual intercourse with a person who has not attained the age of 13 years and cause great bodily harm to the person, it is a Class B felony to have sexual intercourse with a person who has not attained the age of 12 years, and it is a Class A felony to commit 3 or more violations of first or second-degree sexual assault of a child within a period of time involving the same child.
A class A felony is subject to life imprisonment. A class B felony is punishable by imprisonment up to 60 years.
Under Wisconsin’s current sentencing laws, a court must impose a bifurcated sentence, meaning a sentence that is bifurcated between a period of confinement and a period of extended supervision. Together, these are referred to as imprisonment.
Sen. Kopenga’s bill has not yet been introduced or referred to any standing committee, and since the Assembly adjourned a couple of weeks ago, the proposal is unlikely to become law.
That being said, the legislature has not been sitting idly by as the number of reported cases continues to rise. Assembly Bill 201, which was signed into law in December, created a new crime of sexual extortion in response to a series of tragic incidents where young victims took their own lives in response to sexual extortion.
Sen. LeMahieu also noted, “While this specific proposal is unlikely to pass this session, current law prescribes serious penalties for those convicted of these horrible crimes.”
While he has also not read over the bill, Assemblyman Shae Sortwell tells SeehaferNews.com, “I’m certainly open to the proposal. I introduced AB86 earlier this session to impose life sentences on child traffickers.”
Sen. Andre Jacque declined to comment at this time.
