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Senators want tougher penalties for child abusers
TIFFANY L. PARKS
Special to the Legal News
Published: October 13, 2015
Sens. Joe Schiavoni, D-Canfield, and Lou Gentile, D-Steubenville, are calling for tougher penalties for individuals found guilty of purposefully causing harm to a child under the age of 13.
The pair are jointly sponsoring a measure, Senate Bill 178, that would impose an additional mandatory prison term of one to five years.
“Any case concerning children’s safety deserves priority consideration,” Schiavoni said.
“State legislators need to take up this issue and make changes to the Revised Code to establish stricter penalties for adults who commit serious, violent crimes against children.”
A statement said Schiavoni and Gentile have worked with judges and local prosecutors to draft a bill that strikes a balance between maintaining judicial discretion and imposing tougher penalties on individuals who harm children.
Current state law authorizes a minimum sentence of two to three years, depending on the degree of assault.
If enacted, SB 178 would impose an additional mandatory prison term of one to five years, with judges deciding the length of sentences within that range.
The bill states that if a mandatory prison term is imposed upon an offender in an applicable case, the offender would have to serve the additional term consecutively to and prior to any prison term imposed for the underlying felony.
Gentile urged lawmakers to support the proposed legislation.
“Our goal is to protect Ohio’s children from the offenders who purposefully cause serious harm and injury to a defenseless child,” he said.
“It is important that the punishment fit the crime, and in the most severe cases judges and prosecutors should be able to seek tougher penalties. This bill would give prosecutors and judges the tools they need to keep our children safe.”
SB 178 is co-sponsored by Sens. Capri Cafaro, Kenny Yuko, Charleta Tavares, Jim Hughes and Edna Brown.
The bill has been assigned to the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.
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