Criminals might face more serious penalties for kidnapping and rape convictions soon. Majority Whip James Peter Trakas, R-Independence, introduced House Bill 190 to the Ohio House of Representatives last week.
The goal of this legislation is to raise the mandatory minimum sentence for convicted kidnappers and rapists considered to be sexually violent predators. While both kidnapping and rape are first-degree felonies, criminals convicted of these felonies spend as little as three years in jail, said Diane Jaquish, spokeswoman for Trakas.
"This bill proposes a sentencing specification that can be added to a charge," Jaquish said. "If someone is convicted of certain crimes and is convicted with a sexual motivation specification, a judge can choose to incarcerate them for an additional indefinite time period after that definite sentence is complete."
"I was shocked to find out that these guys could get out after only serving three years," Trakas said.
"That is just not acceptable. The victims of these crimes and their families deserve real justice - they should be assured that these guys are going away for a long time before they can even be considered for release," he said.
Trakas expressed his concern for families' healing after these crimes.
"While the state of Ohio is making progress identifying sexual predators, we need to jail them longer to make our neighborhoods safer," Trakas said.
"The current legislation is well-intended, but it still enables sexual predators to harm others," said Rep. Jim McGregor, R-Gahanna, a co-sponsor of HB 190.
"This bill is elevating the penalties for kidnap and rape crimes," McGregor said. "Criminals could spend anywhere from ten years to the rest of their life in jail."
"The purpose of this bill is to enforce the sexually violent predator sentencing specification," Jaquish said. It grants judges the ability to increase sentences for those convicted, he said.
"This bill sounds like a good idea because it makes the sentence fit the crime more closely," said Deborah Schipper, coordinator for Ohio State's Rape Education and Prevention Program. "The victim has to deal with the assault for the rest of his or her life."
Schipper said this bill is a sign today's society is taking rape more seriously as either a crime or injury.
"At the same time, this is like a Band-Aid," she said. "It doesn't help the people who are most vulnerable to the crime - the people who don't report it."
Ohio Coalition on Sexual Assault declined to comment on HB 190.
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