Dear (Name of Judiciary II Committee member):
I strongly encourage your vote in favor of HB4764.
The epidemic of child sexual assault in the state of Illinois must be addressed. According to the Illinois State Sex Offender Registry of the 24,000 registered sex offenders, over 19,000 are child sex offenders. Not to mention that 60% of these crimes go unreported. Recently, the Chicago Tribune published a report revealing 800 sex offenders who failed to register. According to a 1994 Justice Bureau study, sex offenders are four times more likely to reoffend than any other felon. Knowing that pedophiles have an average of more than 100 victims, our state must strengthen its laws to protect children from sex offenders.
The provisions under Jasmine’s Law HB4764 provides a common sense approach to deter the crime by increasing minimum sentencing for sex offenders, 17 years and older who sexually violate children under 13; adding additional time to the initial sentence imposed by the court for predators who commit or attempt to commit an act of sexual violence while the victim is under the influence of alcohol, whether or not the alcohol was provided by the offender; and mandating the State’s Attorneys Office furnish victims with a sign-off sheet to ensure victims receive a copy and an explanation of their rights at the onset of the criminal justice under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act and the Rights of Witnesses and Victims of Violent Crimes Act.
Respectfully submitted,
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