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STATE SENATOR JODY AMEDEE LEADS EFFORT TO STRENGTHEN CHILD PREDATOR LAWS KEY BILLS PASS FIRST STEP IN LEGISLATIVE PROCESS At the urging of District 18 State Senator Jody Amedee (D-Gonzales), the Senate Judiciary C Committee unanimously approved a series of bills to crack down on child predators. The bills are part of the legislative agenda pushed by the Jindal Administration and promise to clarify existing loopholes in child protection laws and increase penalties for individuals convicted of solicitation of sex from minors. Senator Amedee, who also chairs the committee, authored the bills. "We're sending a message that Louisiana is not the place to prey on children," said Senator Amedee. "This set of bills will help protect those who are innocent and venerable to the most malicious and destructive of crimes. The victims of child predators live with the tragedy of what's happening to them all of their lives. I'm going to do my best to make sure that perpetrators of sexual crimes against children will have to live with the consequence of their actions for the rest of their lives as well." The set of bills authored by Senator Amedee are: SB 510 - Increases the minimum penalty for computer-aided solicitation of a minor from 2 to 5 years when the child is under eighteen, and from 2 to not less than 10 years when the child is under the age of thirteen. SB 512 - Clarifies the law to include text messaging as a form of computer-aided solicitation of a minor. SB 513 - Increases the perimeter where sexual offenders are prohibited from 1,000 to 2,000 feet at any public or private school property, daycare facility, playground, youth center, public swimming pool, video arcade, or public park and recreational facility. SB 514 - Increases the minimum penalty for molestation of a juvenile from 1 to 5 years, and retains the current minimum for the molestation of a minor under the age of thirteen of 25 years. SB 517 - Requires lifetime registration for all sexual offenders.
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