FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                   Friday, May 9, 2008

Contact: Senator Joseph Foster

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SENATE APPROVES NEW SYSTEM FOR CLASSIFYING SEX OFFENDERS

CONCORD – With broad bipartisan support, the Senate voted last night in favor of a new system for classifying sex offenders and new requirements for sex offenders registering after serving their sentences.

House Bill 1640 creates a three-tier system for classifying sexual offenders and offenders against children, recognizing that differences between sex crimes can vary from more minor offenses like indecent exposure to much more serious offenses like child molestation and forcible rape.  For the most serious offenses, lifetime registration on the public list will be required while for lesser offenses the period can be shorter and the ability to petition off the list will be available in certain circumstances.

 The Senate did approve a change to take into account teenagers who have consensual sex and can be convicted of felonious sexual assault if it turns out one of them is under age 16.  To be charged with the felony, the sexual partner would have to be at least four years older under the Senate bill. Currently, the law calls for only a three year age difference for it to be considered a felony.  This change is consistent with the federal Adam Walsh Act.

The Senate version of the bill removes a provision included by the House that would have required the state to collect DNA samples from everyone convicted of a felony. State law already requires DNA samples be taken from sex offenders and violent criminals. The Senate Judiciary Committee recommended against expanding that to all felons.

“Class B felonies include crimes like passing bad checks and failing to pay child support,” said Senator Joseph Foster (D-Nashua). “Do we want the government to have to collect their DNA? I don’t think so.”

The Senate also declined to support a provision that would publicly list the addresses where registered sex offenders are employed in New Hampshire, saying that would punish employers. The information does remain available to law enforcement.

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The Senate agreed to a provision that would revoke a sex offender’s license if he or she failed to register but added a requirement that the person be notified that his or her driving privileges were at risk. Failure to register within 15 days of receiving notice would result in a license revocation while the House version called for immediate revocation.

On the Senate floor yesterday, members took critics to task for suggesting the Senate was soft on pedophiles by not adopting every provision sent over by the House. The Senate has passed legislation this year toughening penalties for Internet crimes against children. The Senate also passed legislation two years ago establishing some of the toughest penalties in the nation for sexual predators against children, several senators noted.

“This is demagoguery plain and simple,” said Foster, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “No one here in this body has ever been in favor or is in favor of pedophiles.”

“Nobody should panic. Nobody should think we didn’t do our job,” said Senator Robert Clegg (R-Hudson) also a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.