Virginia’s laws on monitoring and incarcerating sexual predators got much tougher Monday when Gov. Tim Kaine signed 12 pieces of legislation into law in conjunction with National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.
The new laws require a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life for first-time child sexual predators, electronic monitoring, and more stringent testing of convicted predators to assess their mental stability before allowing them to re-enter society.
“These new tools will help our police and prosecutors track, treat and punish those who pose a threat to our children and others in our communities,” Kaine said in a statement.
The legislation, which will cost between $20 million and $35 million over the next two years, includes strict guidelines for maintaining the state’s sex offender registry, including mandatory Global Positioning System tracking for violators, the taking of a DNA sample, and regular updating of photos as well as work and home addresses.
Those who committed a sexually oriented crime before Virginia eliminated parole in 1994 will have to take a more stringent test to determine whether or not they are “curable” as their release date approaches, said Del. David Albo, R-Springfield, head of the state’s crime commission.
There are 22 people detained in a mental health facility based on the old test. The new test could double that number, Albo said.
“We are one of the toughest sentencing states in the country,” Albo said. “What this bill does is ratchet the punishments up even further for sex crimes against kids.”
“Those who harm innocent children have no place in our society and this legislation makes every child in Virginia safer,” said Attorney General Bob McDonnell, who worked with the state’s crime commission to get the laws introduced and passed in a bipartisan effort.
Virginia’s Sexual Predators
» 13,265 offenders in the Virginia registry
» Of those, 82 percent are considered violent, 42 percent are still living in Virginia
» About 1,100 new offenders added to registry annually
» At least 326 schools are not registered to receive updates from the registry
» DNA profiles missing for 24 percent of those on registry
» 2005 Crime Commission report found inaccurate and incomplete information throughout the registry
