SB 176 - Aims to protect sexual assault victims- WI
Bill aims to protect assault victims (Published Thursday, April 27, 2006 11:15:56 AM CDT) MADISON-A Janesville woman whose daughter was sexually assaulted pleaded with legislators Wednesday to pass a bill requiring sex offenders to live at least a half mile from their victims. "She needs you, the lawmakers of this country, to protect her and other sexual assault victims, to help them heal and attempt to recover from their victimization," the Janesville mother said. "They will never fully recover, but they have the right to try." Her daughter was sexually assaulted in 1998. When the sex offender was released for work privileges in 2001, he was placed next door to the victim and her family. In her testimony to the committee, the mother said the presence of the man next door was traumatizing. She said her daughter was afraid of the dark and suffered from anxiety as a result of her assailant's presence. The mother implored committee members to help pass the bill authored by Sen. Judy Robson, D-Beloit. "By passing this law, it will help prevent the victims from at least having to visually see their perpetrator over and over again," she said. The woman commented during a hearing of the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Homeland Security. The restrictions in Senate Bill 176 would prevent a sex offender on supervised release from residing within a half-mile of his victim. The requirement, however, applies only if the victim has registered with the state to be notified of the offender's release. The proposal includes a provision that if the victim moves within a half-mile of his or her attacker, the sex offender would not be required to move. Robson's bill also expands the definition of a serious sex offense to include third-degree or fourth-degree sexual assault. Current law defines a serious sex offense as first-degree or second-degree sexual assault. Rep. Mike Sheridan, D-Janesville, author of the Assembly companion legislation to Robson's bill, said the measure provides some relief to victims of a sexual assault. "While a half-mile radius would not completely ease the fears of victims, it would certainly reduce their level of anxiety and allow the difficult healing process to continue," Sheridan said in written testimony to the committee. Quala Champagne, administrator of the Division of Community Corrections in the Department of Corrections, said Robson's bill would make it more difficult to return sex offenders to small communities. "Should the victim live near the center of one of these small communities, it is possible that there would be no housing available," Champagne said in her testimony. Offenders might have to be placed in another community where they have no support systems and where the offenders' anonymity is increased, and the risk is greater, Champagne said. But the Janesville mother questioned Champagne's argument. "I don't see it as being a problem, and if it is, it shouldn't be the victim's problem," she said. Robson applauded the woman's efforts as "another example of the grassroots advocacy" that drives much of the legislation that is introduced. The committee was expected to vote on Robson's bill today. The bill still needs approval by the full Assembly, the Senate if amendments are approved in the Assembly and the governor's signature before becoming law. http://www.gazetteextra.com/offendervictimsbill042706.asp