SENATE President Jude U. Hofschneider has introduced a bill to increase the statutory fine and mandatory minimum penalties for sexual abuse of children in the first degree.
Jude U. Hoschneider
Senate Bill 22-30 would amend Public Law 12-82, which was enacted in 2002, in light of the evolving crimes of sexual assault and sexual abuse of children.
Hofschneider said although the CNMI law has improved and strengthened over the years to protect children and deter perpetrators, there are still claims and reports of sexual assault and sexual abuse of children in the local community today.
“Local newspapers are flooded with reports of such criminal claims, arrests or cases being filed in court every week,” he said, adding that children still need to be protected from sexual assault and abuse.
He said too often, children under 18 years of age are the direct victims of sexual violence, and in some instances, can also become indirect victims.
“Sexual assault leads to unwanted pregnancies each year, and many survivors choose to raise children that were conceived as a result of the crime. All survivors of sexual violence, children and mothers alike, should be able to live without fear of future harm,” Hofschneider said.
A way to improve the protection of children, he said, is to increase the penalties for these crimes, including raising the statutory fine from up to $50,000 to $100,000.
The legislation also proposes a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, or half of the maximum 30-year imprisonment, while also increasing the mandatory minimum sentence for repeat offenders to 25 years’ imprisonment.
Currently, CNMI law has a minimum sentence of eight years for these crimes, and 15 years for repeat offenders.
These increased penalties are necessary, Hofschneider said, in order to deter perpetrators and to better protect children from sexual assault and abuse.
The measure is now with the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Government, Law & Federal Relations for review.
