Horseman Number Two rides in Maine....
J.A. Terranson
measl at mfn.org
Tue Apr 15 09:42:13 PDT 2008
By Dave Choate
dchoate at seacoastonline.com
April 06, 2008 6:00 AM
Those who peer at children in public could find themselves on the wrong
side of the law in Maine soon.
A bill that passed the House last month aims to strengthen the crime of
visual sexual aggression against children, according to state Rep. Dawn
Hill, D-York.
Her involvement started when Ogunquit Police Lt. David Alexander was
called to a local beach to deal with a man who appeared to be observing
children entering the community bathrooms. Because the state statute
prevents arrests for visual sexual aggression of a child in a public
place, Alexander said he and his fellow officer could only ask the man
to move along.
"There was no violation of law that we could enforce. There was nothing
we could charge him with," Alexander said.
He attended a talk with Hill a week later and brought the case to her
attention. Hill pledged to do what she could, Alexander said, and the
result was a change through the Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Committee in the House, which made the law applicable in both private
and public places.
Alexander said he's grateful Hill was willing to take up the cause, and
is hopeful the measure will clear the Senate.
"I'll be pleased that we were able to identify this flaw and take steps
to rectify it," he said.
Under the bill, if someone is arrested for viewing children in a public
place, it would be a Class D felony if the child is between 12 to 14
years old and a Class C felony if the child is under 12, according to
Alexander.
Hill said she believes the move was necessary to correct what she called
a "loophole" in the state's criminal law statutes.
"I told Lt. Alexander that I would be happy to work with him and sponsor
a bill that would correct this in the 2008 session," Hill said. "And so
we did."
In arguing for the bill, Alexander said she cited public rest rooms as
places where the people using them should have a reasonable expectation
of privacy. She said the committee determined that there would not be
any major side effects from expanding the statute to include public places.
The bill recently cleared a fiscal review, done because of the state's
major prison budget crunch, and Hill said it should be heading to the
Senate before long.
York Police Chief Doug Bracy said the statute would represent a fairly
minor change that would help keep the public safer, especially children.
He noted that York police respond fairly regularly to reports of public
peepers on the town's beaches.
With ever-growing concern over sexual predators, Bracy said the arrests
will also allow police to check backgrounds and determine if there is a
criminal history involved.
"There is a growing outcry by the public to protect our children," Bracy
said, noting that tourists from all over the country visit York.
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