New Victim's Rights and Child Abuse Laws - Alabama
New Victim's Rights and Child Abuse Laws Last Update: 4/25/2006 6:26:02 PM (MOBILE, Ala.) April 25 -- Nothing is more painful than a child who has had their innocence stripped. "One of the saddest cases that I ever saw come through the Child Advocacy Center was a case 10 years ago, a girl who was 9 years old, who was molested by mom's live in boyfriend. He had aids. He gave her aids, and she died about 4 years later", says Child Advocacy Center's Pat Guyton. Guyton says that little girl was unable to be saved. But, he hopes new laws will help save others. Governor Bob Riley signs legislation making it mandatory for alleged rapists to be tested for hiv and other sexually transmitted diseases. Family counseling and rape crisis worker Chandra Brown says, up until now, the victim had to wait until the alleged rapist was convicted for them to be tested. It was a wait that weighed on a person whose spirit had already been broken. "I think any kind of step that we can do to give the victim back their dignity after they've been assaulted, that's just a step closer to empowerment, that's just a step closer to healing", says Chandra Brown. Brown says testing alleged rapists allows the victim the chance to find out if their health has been put in jeopardy early to begin treatment right away. The new law protects anyone who has been raped, young or old. Governor Riley is, also, taking steps to help those 12 and younger feel more secure by cracking down on repeat sex offenders. Judges use to hand down sentences of one to 10 years. Now penalties for repeat offenders range from 2 to 20 years for the second offense, 10 to life for the third and 15 to life for the fourth offense. Experts say they are glad there are new laws on the books to crack down on the perpetrators. However, they say, after the tragic incident, the victim's cries should not go unheard. Experts say victims need extensive counseling and therapy to become whole again. Child Advocacy's Pat Guyton says the amount of years an offender spends in prison could never add up to the years taken away from someone who is sexually assaulted or raped. If you are a victim of a sexual assault or rape, there is help. You can reach crisis counselors by calling a 24 hour hotline. The number to call... (251) 473-7273. http://www.wpmi.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=25EB5A60-9CD3-467C-A219-BF28E4B209A2