JEFFERSON CITY, Mo — Two bills dealing with sex offenses, from opposite viewpoints, were discussed in the House Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee on Monday.
The first was HB 1598 sponsored by Rep. Noel Torpey, R-Kansas City. The bill specifies that a sexual offense against a person with a mental disability will take into account the mental age of the victim instead of the victim’s actual age.
The bill applies to statutory situations because as Rep. Nick Marshall, R-Kansas City, pointed out age is not a factor in sexual assault cases.
A mother of an abused child testified that the offender walked away without even having to register after the family accepted a plea bargain.
Rep. Mike Colona of St. Louis. a Democrat, expressed concerns about the law in court. Torpey said experts, likely mental health professionals, would determine a victim’s mental aptitude. Colona said a breakdown would happen when experts conflicted.
“There could be unintended consequences when we get to court,” said Matt Selby, a representative for the Missouri Association of Prosecutors.
Selby said the law could be enforced by what the perpetrator knew about the victim as much as the victim’s capacity to consent.
The second bill was HB 1561 sponsored by committee chair Rep. Dave Hinson, R-St. Clair. The bill would remove sex offenders who committed crimes as juveniles from the public website. Similar bills have been proposed at least three years. A version from last year made it all the way to Gov. Jay Nixon before it was vetoed.
The main difference between legislation this year and last year’s failed bill is that it leaves the discretion to remove an offender completely up to a judge. Again, Colona found an issue with the whether or not elected judges would be willing to remove people from the registry.
The bill specifies that there be no more than a six-year age difference between the offender and the victim. Emily van Schenkhof, Deputy Director of Missouri KidsFirst, took an issue with this piece of the bill, arguing that a four-year difference in age was more reasonable. Rep. Don Phillips, R-Kimberling City, added that a four year difference would meet Sex Offender Registry and Notification Act requirements.
“We do not want to be known as a state that’s permissible to sex offenders,” she said.
Van Schenkhof proposed including therapeutic intervention as a requirement from exclusion from the registry.
No action was taken on either bill on Monday.
