May 11, 2001 – Sen. Lorraine Berry's long-awaited "child protection" bill finally got its first public airing Thursday evening before a Senate committee where it was met with more than three hours of highly educated and occasionally impassioned testimony from the territory's leading child advocates.
Although the Government Operations, Planning and Environmental Protection Committee held the measure for further study, proponents were gratified to have it brought to the attention of the community. The bill would raise the age of sexual consent to 18 years from 16, increase the penalties for aggravated rape, and eliminate the current three-year statute of limitations for bringing criminal action for felony child abuse and aggravated rape.
All of the advocates, Attorney General Iver Stridiron and the senators agreed on the statute-of-limitations provision. Stridiron said his office "strongly supports the measure," noting that there can be long delays in reporting such cases and their investigation can be lengthy.
Iris Kern, executive director of The Safety Zone on St. John, recommended that there be "no statute of limitations at all on this heinous crime." For a victim, she said, the act of bringing charges against the perpetrator can take time and is part of the "healing process." She said it is "totally unrealistic to expect a child to determine whether to file charges" within three years.
In contrast, there was strong disagreement on the issue of raising the age of consent to18, and this became the main issue that held the bill back.
Kern stated, and has said on her radio talk show "Opening Doors," that she considers all youth under 18 to be children. "Despite their physical development," she said, "they are nothing more than mature children."
For that reason, she considers raising the age of consent to 18 to pose a danger to youth. "If you do raise the age, you risk having a situation in which two 17-year-olds having consensual sex puts the male at risk of being sent to prison for life."
Clema Lewis, co-director of the Women's Coalition of St. Croix, testified in favor of raising the age of consent to 18. So long as it is 16, she said, the abuser can state that a victim of that age has consented to a "relationship," regardless of coercive pressure.
Speaking as a member of the St. Croix Child Abuse Task Force, Lewis said a 16-year-old is not able to understand the consequences of a sexual relationship. She said her desire was to protect 16-year-olds from older men or women who can freely take advantage of them. "Please understand we're talking about children here … our children in our community," she said.
Stridiron agreed with Kern, saying that raising the age to 18 would cause a "myriad of difficulties in prosecution." He said it would have the effect of criminalizing cases in which young males engage in sexual relations with girlfriends. "For example, an 18-year-old who has consensual relations with his 17-year-old girlfriend could be criminally prosecuted."
If convicted, the attorney general added, the young man could end up serving a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years to life. He said the law would have the "unintended effect of ending any productive life the 18 year-old may have had."
The bill would make the penalty for aggravated rape in the first degree from 15 years to life imprisonment.
Michal Rhymer, executive director of Family Resource Center, spoke in support of raising the age of consent to 18. However, she recommended an age differentiation in criminal penalties so that perpetrators between 18 and 21 would be subject to a minimum sentence of one year in prison.
The bill also addresses aggravated rape in the second degree. It would imprison from 10 years to life anyone who is convicted of sexual intercourse or sodomy with a person under 18 who is not the perpetrator's spouse and who is a person of authority and lives in the same household. Kern suggest adding "or is a teacher, minister, scout leader …" to the description.
Dilsa Capdeville, program director of Kidscope, opposed increasing mandatory sentences, as did Stridiron. Capdeville said it could lead to more prison overcrowding. Stridiron agreed and said there is no evidence that sexual predators are deterred by the prospect of longer sentences if caught and convicted. Further, "there is no question that long prison sentences do little to rehabilitate sexual offenders," he said. A more effective strategy, he suggested, would be increased emphasis on social and family programs for a "positive impact on the sex-crime issue."
Berry's bill was first introduced in the 23rd Legislature but got lost in the shuffle with last-minute budget bills last December.
The committee members present Thursday expressed interest in seeing the bill passed but said they needed time to consider the changes suggested by those testifying. Kern said on her Friday morning radio show that she had spoken with Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole, who chairs the committee, and a couple other committee members. She said they had agreed to meet privately with her and other advocates "away from the cameras" to discuss amendments to the measure.
Committee members attending the meeting Thursday in addition to Cole were Sens. Adelbert Bryan, Roosevelt David, Carlton Dowe, David Jones and Celestino White. Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg was excused.
Almost at the end of the very long day, Rhymer said to the committee, "I have a song for you, which I will recite." With a steady gaze and controlled emotion, Rhymer asked the lawmakers: "What About the Children? If not for those who loved us and care enough to show us, where would we be today?"
"The time is now" to do what's right, she told the senators. "Let's do it for our children."
